The Future is Never Set
by Shraider
Summary: Complete rewrite of Genisys, now including events after. AU style. Skynet hasn't perfected it's T-3000 model and instead of infecting him on the spot needs to capture John first. Will he still succumb to Skynet? Or will he escape and see his best friend again? Father/Son relationship between John and Reese. EMOTIONS
1. Chapter 1

Looking up as the time displacement device activated, John made eye contact with the man who stood inside it; his confidant, his ally, his best friend…his father. Even though Reese didn't even know it, he was proud to call the younger man by that title. Kyle was strong, brave, loyal, and John was overwhelmingly proud of him.

As the glow of the machine became brighter, John nodded to the man now lifted into the air. This was it, the last moment in his time line where he'd see Kyle. It was bittersweet but necessary. Skynet's servers were blown and this event was one of the last loose ends that needed to be tied. Despite this being the moment that ended his knowledge of the future, he was confident that the battles that would take place now would be easier fought that previously. He would miss Reese though…the friendship they had and the never ending loyalty that vowed to protect him until the end. That loyalty was meant for his mother now.

A gun going off behind him drew his eyes from the machine to frantically search the room. The moment where he would have seen Kyle disappear was instead taken by a jerk and a flash of pain that had him dropping to one knee and crying out. Soldiers around him dropped like flies, one…three, six…as he reached for his holstered gun with shaking hands.

Despite the bullet that rested in his thigh, John leveled the gun at the aggressor, unloading the clip. The terminator didn't look like one he'd encountered before. It was dressed in full military gear, the same that he himself was wearing. And it seemed that every bullet that made contact with the machine was absorbed with little to no damage.

Gritting his teeth and raising to his feet painfully, the man unholstered a second weapon, unloading yet another meaningless clip into the terminator as he shuffled towards the door. There were only three survivors left in the room including him and his heart bled for every lost soul. He knew that they would die for him, and he knew equally that it was him that led them here and to their inevitable death.

Another man dropped and John became increasingly aware that the machine was not targeting him and instead clearing the room.

The last soldier hit the ground with finality when he was at the door. He didn't even make it ten steps down the hall before he heard the thing round the corner behind him.

"John Connor." It sounded human….they always do.

The military leader stopped. Knowing that with a bullet wound and only one extra clip on his waist he wasn't going to survive. "Why haven't you killed me?" He spoke bitterly, not turning around. "What's your directive?"

"Kill you?" The machine laughed…..laughed? "I don't want to kill you."

John turned finally, setting his gaze on the machine and his hand on the extra clip. "You…" His brows came together questioningly. "What are you? We destroyed Skynet's central server." Was this…even a terminator?

"Pawns, that's all you destroyed." The cyborg raised a brow, spinning the gun in his hand. "I am Skynet."

"You're….Skynet…..?" In a practiced movement, he reloaded the gun, raising it towards the other. Fear must have crossed his face because it made the machine laugh once more.

"Go ahead. Unload that gun into me and see what little good it does you-" The word was cut off as the AI stumbled a step back, a bullet lodged between its eyes. But even that didn't slow it down much; nor did any bullet that John hit it with as he emptied his clip a final pathetic attempt to kill it.

Dropping the gun to his side in defeat when the robot recovered, he swallowed, raising his chin in defiance. "If you don't want me dead that what is it you want?"

"I want you to join me." The AI spoke, a smile stretching across his face.

The military leader laughed harshly with his surprise. "You think…that I would actually join you? I would die first."

Skynet's AI shook its head, smirking as he took the time to switch the clip in his handgun for a different one. "Then you should have saved one of those bullets."

John's eyes widened as the gun was raised towards him and he wondered for a panicked moment if he could make it to the end of the hall. But even as he was turning on his heel, he felt the hard sting of something in the back of his neck. The sedative began acting almost immediately, clouding his mind as he took a limping step away. With his second step, his vision was nearly dark. His third step saw his legs giving out and his conscious form lying at Skynet's feet.

-  
'Beep'

'Beep'

John woke to the quiet rhythmic sound of a machine. A heart monitor? "Reese..?" He grated out, his voice a dry rasp. On those occasions where he was injured on the field it was normally Kyle that was sitting at his side, the ever vigilant watchman. At the lack of response, he groggily opened his eyes. When his vision didn't quite clear fast enough, his heart lurched when he realized he couldn't lift his hand to rub his eyes.

Swallowing dryly, he blinked until his vision focused. It took about the same amount of time to remember what had happened. Kyle was gone, as was no doubt every living person that had been in his unit that day.

And him? Captured. He glanced down at himself.

He was lying on a slightly tilted steel table, arms fastened down at his wrists with mechanical restraints. He was wearing only his cargo pants, leaving his bare and scarred chest open to the air. Nodes were stuck to his skin, monitoring his vitals that appeared on a screen to his left. Right above one of the restraints an iv was taped to his arm. His wounded leg was crudely bandaged and throbbed with every heartbeat…every bleep of the monitor.

The room around him was the average size for a hospital room, lowly lit. Machine panels lit up almost every wall with tiny lights that blinked ominously every few seconds.

His thoughts raced with every possibility about why they would keep him alive. Skynet didn't take prisoners, it killed, that was all that it did. It killed humans. For the longest time he was its biggest target, its biggest threat. So why, now that it had him at its mercy, was he still alive?

He turned to watch the heart monitor beep faster as his heart began to race in panic.

Skynet had said that it intended for him to join it. Was it experimenting on humans? To what end? What was it going to do? Turn him into a cyborg? Plant a microchip in his head? Was he to be some obedient slave?

Footsteps drew his attention and he turned his gaze towards the approaching thing. Skynet. The same model AI that had captured him.

He narrowed his gaze, wetting his lips nervously as the machine stepped up beside him. "John Connor." It greeted him with a smile that was not reciprocated.

"What are you going to do?" He croaked, throat still dry.

"I already told you. You're going to join me." The AI, stepped towards one of the computer panels beside him, studying the readout.

"Why haven't you just done whatever you're going to do yet, then?"

The AI turned to look at him. "You're valuable, John Connor. I am still in the beginning phase of testing. I wouldn't want to terminate your life if I don't know yet if the procedure will even work."

The heart monitor jumped again as fear struck him. "Procedure?"

"Rewriting a human's genetic code on a cellular level using nano resin. You won't be human, nor will you be machine. You'll be more." John's jaw clenched at the words. He had to get out of here…escape somehow…or…end his own life. He couldn't be turned into some….weapon for Skynet.

Looking down at him, the AI smiled. "You won't be waiting long. As of now I am…" it paused, raising its gaze as if reading something in the empty space above him before glancing down again. "79 percent completed the preliminary testing on other captured subjects."

The words caused John to jerk his body in the restraints as if to get up in anger. "You're testing on people?" He growled at the machine, gritting his teeth as his leg throbbed. Killing humans was one thing…but this? This was so much worse.

"They are terminated after they serve their purpose." The AI said passingly as he turned to leave. "I will see you when preliminary tests are complete."

Shutting his eyes, John shuddered a breath. This was so wrong, this entire situation. Was this truly his fate in the time line? Since he was a child he was told he was humanity's savior. Thousands of people had died for him in the course of his life. Skynet worked furiously through even time itself to end him…and this…here… was to be his fate? Not days after his knowledge of the future ended he was to become a tool for Skynet? He felt like he was going to be sick.

John's thoughts wandered to Kyle then. His heart panged in emptiness and longing for his friend to be there, reassuring him that whatever decisions he made that got him here were the right ones, and that he would somehow pull through. But even Kyle was gone, destined to die for him before he was even born.

Shaking his head, he tried to clear his thoughts. Pitying himself now wouldn't do him any good. He had to figure out some way to get out of the situation, either dead and useless to Skynet, or alive. It would be more difficult now without his pre knowledge of events. But that didn't change his training or skill set. He didn't live his life the way he did to give up and surrender on some operating table in the hands of the enemy.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep and calming breath. He had to think.

Authors note:

I don't care how many bad reviews the dang movie got. And I know really liking it is an unpopular opinion but I can't help it.  
I loved, loved, Jason Clarke in the role of John Connor. I loved him as a protagonist, and it absolutely shattered me when he was in the end, evil. I think about it often and it still hurts.  
So here's an alternate universe take on events? One that's less painful to me. ^^;;


	2. Chapter 2

Head throbbing, and body aching John passed the time slowly with his racing thoughts. He had managed to concoct a plan…a plan that depended on a whole wack of variables to be in his favor, but a plan none the less. Really, he could think of no other way out.

He had tried slipping the restraints but short of breaking his own hands there was no way….which he was prepared to do but unable to in his current position.

Every rational plan depended on his getting loose, but that was something he doubted would happen until he was dead, or one of Skynet's pawns. So he had to settle for a less rational plan and just hope that the stars aligned and it worked out.

And that plan relied heavily on Skynet's experiment failing.

He wasn't sure how long he waited in the stifling and cold silence, long enough to nod off before being roused by the sheer discomfort. But as the ominous sound of footsteps could be heard approaching, suddenly any hope or confidence he had fell away.

"John Connor." Skynet's AI greeted him with that same unnerving smile. John only glared at it before raising his gaze to stare at the ceiling.

"Let me guess, you're here to turn me into one of your pawns." He grit out, voice rough and quiet.

"Not a pawn. An ally." The AI spoke, producing a large syringe full of what looked like liquid metal. Nano bots? "I've had positive results with the beginning phases of testing, although not perfect, there's a high chance this will be effective."

As the machine reached for him, John jerked away but to no avail. Taking a handful of the curly graying hair in an iron grip, the AI wrenched his head to the side exposing his neck. Squeezing his eyes shut and preparing himself for the pain that would inevitably come, John was not disappointed. He rather wished he had been.

The syringe that was plunged into his neck was uncomfortable, even with his high pain tolerance. But it was what came next that was excruciating. It must have hit his heart first because the monitor went crazy. He felt like his whole neck and chest was on fire, like molten steel had been injected straight into his veins.

He vaguely heard himself cry out, arching on the table in hopes of alleviating the pain. But it soon moved on. As soon as it hit his lungs it was like he couldn't breathe as he gasped for air, choking on the inability to. And then it was in his head in an explosion of agony. He couldn't think, thoughts barely processing as the programed nano bots tried to take hold. Even if his vision hadn't been corrupted by black spots he wasn't able to function well enough to focus on sight. In that moment, John Connor was gone. Flooded with the foreign material, his body was quickly shutting down, seizing on the table.

And then it was over. The pain dulled and he was once again John Connor, even if he slipped into unconciousness.

Skynet watched with a critical gaze as blood poured from John's nose and ears, most definitely containing the nanobots that were intended to fuse with him. The AI then looked up to the vitals on the monitor. Only when they leveled out did it nod in satisfaction.

"A failed trial…" It mused, "One of many, I foresee." It then turned and left, footsteps echoing away.

It took a long time for consciousness to return to John, and even then it took him a while to decide if he was in fact alive. He felt like death, like at any moment he would close his eyes and slip away. His throat and chest were raw, as if he had just run a marathon in sub-zero weather. It was the first time he truly understood the phrase, 'splitting headache.'

He didn't even bother opening his eyes. If that's what Skynets plan was like it basically rendered his useless. He couldn't possibly fake a success well enough in this condition that would be believable enough for the AI.

Coughing, he realized he could taste blood, the metallic taste stronger than normal. His stomach turned in nausea when he realized why. Skynet's little experiment.

Finally opening his eyes, he quickly shut them again. Even the dim lighting of the room hurt.

Calming his shaky breathing, he attempted to gather his thoughts. Perhaps he was doomed to this fate. Perhaps the path of his destiny all along was to put him right here after Reese was sent back in time.

Unconsciousness settled over him once more, easing the pain for at least a little while.

-  
"John Connor."

The man groaned as the familiar voice woke him from the restless sleep. No, it couldn't be back for another try, not this soon. "Just kill me and be done with it.." He muttered without bothering to open his eyes. He knew what was coming and seeing the syringe would only cause panic.

"Did the last trial harm your thought process?" The AI asked genuinely. "I will not kill you. My goal is to-"

"I remember." John croaked, cutting the voice off.

"Then you know that I will continue until successful." John felt the hand pull his head to the side again and he swallowed knowing what was coming.

It was no better than the first time, excruciating, agonizing. But this time it lasted.

Skynet watched the monitor as the minutes passed and John's vitals finally stabilized. Looking down, it saw the telltale sign of the nanobots rippling across his skin.

Waiting until the convulsing stopped, the AI finally spoke. "John Connor."

After a moment, the man replied. "Yes." The voice was stronger, but not one that the AI expected.

"Do you know who and what you are?" The machine glanced down at its subject scanning his body to check for success. The nano resin was indeed contained, but to what extent was the procedure a success?

"John Connor, former leader and saviour of mankind against the global network Skynet. Reprogrammed as the saviour of Skynet."

The AI nodded in agreement. "The saviour of Skynet. Your attitude won't change even now, will it?" It mused as it moved to hit a few keys on the panel.

"Like you said before, I am not human, not machine. But more."

Nodding again, the AI hit the release on the restraints. As the steel retracted with a hiss, John took a moment to raise his arms, stretching them as if to test them.

"Your body may take a few days to get used to. From here on, I can program the necessary skills into you." The Ai watched the man stand, still favoring his wounded leg. "Perhaps the procedure was not a complete success. You're injuries have not repaired."

"I can't tell if it's actually pain or just a memory." The AI studied the man as he pulled the nodes from his skin.

"Whatever faults with your programming can be repaired. Follow me."

As the AI turned to leave, John's thoughts raced. Was his plan actually working? If he was able to lie about its success then it must have had some degree of effect on his body. Everything still ached, including his leg but he was able to think, to function…and had no desire to begin slaughtering people, which was a bonus.

But it was only so long until Skynet realized that John Connor was still in fact John Connor, and had him subdued again. The only saving grace was that Skynet was only an AI, it didn't understand the nuances of emotion, nor did it understand the art of lying. As far as it new, he truly was under its control.  
He had to find a way out and fast.

Following the AI, he quickly realized that keeping his face composed was going to be very difficult considering every step was agony. Had Skynet even bothered to fish the bullet out of his thigh? Jesus…

As they passed through the halls, the military leader quickly realized that he recognized the building. They were still in the building he had been captured in, they'd never moved. The same building that had the time placement device…

Waiting until they were just walking through a set of security doors, John put his plan into action. Snapping his hand forward he picked the gun out of the AI's holster. Before the machine had even turned around to question the action, he slammed a fist into the doors locking mechanism which he swiftly planted a bullet in as soon as the steel slammed down.

Setting off at a limping jog, he doubled back, taking a left, then a right; putting a bullet in, one, two machines as he went. Sweat caked on his forehead, and gasping for air, he only stopped when his feet landed in the room holding the time displacement device.

Shutting the emergency door and putting a bullet in that panel as well, he jogged towards the controls. They hadn't even bothered to remove his crews make shift set up, although it did seem that of his slaughtered unit the only thing that remained of them was pools of dried blood.

Having no time to slow down, he quickly scanned the coordinates. They were still set for the moment he sent Reese back. He considered changing it for a moment but his thoughts were quickly halted when something slammed into the door.

"No time…" he muttered hitting the start button. Quickly discarding his clothes while moving, he hopped onto the pad just as the rings of the machine started spinning.

Come one…come on…. To finish its cycle it would take 60 seconds. But by the sound at the door he wondered if he even had that long.

His feet lifted off of the ground when the steel of the door bent in. Thirty seconds..

The rings were spinning almost too fast to see out of when the door bent away enough to let something through. Ten seconds.

He watched Skynet's AI approach the control panel at a jog before raising a gun towards him. 5 seconds. It was too late to stop it now.

John heard the loud bang as the gun was fired. There was a flash of pain, and then he was gone. The machines rings slid back down into place as it powered down. Skynet studied the machine and the absence of John Connors body, most definitely processing the necessary emotion to be angry at its own failure.

-  
Authors note:

I was having issues with where to go. I couldn't decide if I wanted John to go back to 1984, or to change the coordinates and appear at the same time he did in the hospital room. I couldn't seem to justify his changing the coordinates to something as random as 2017, or even 2015. So I decided to go with the first option.  
I know, so many plot holes, I know, I know. BUT EMOTIONS SO DON'T LOOK AT ME I JUST HAVE SO MANY EMOTIONS


	3. Chapter 3

He wondered if he would ever get used to pain. He had been injured before and had the scars to prove it, to many to count. But being shot, injected with god knows what, shot again, and then being thrown through time, John was pretty sure that his breaking point was near if the theme continued.

As the electricity rippled through the air, the time placement device finished its work by depositing John on the pavement, hard.

Groaning, he lay unmoving while trying to assess the damage, not even the wonder as to where or when he was drew his attention. Glancing down at his chest, he gently lifted the hand that was pressed to his shoulder. By the searing pain in his back as well he guessed that Skynets shot had torn right through him. He was lucky, had it not he would have felt the wrath of the metal bullet in the devices magnetic field. Although he assumed that had that happened, at least he wouldn't have had to worry about Skynet recapturing him.

Satisfied that he knew the damage limited to his shoulder he then tried to muster the strength to get up. A loud shot ringing through the air caused him to pause. Gunfire? He had certainly heard enough of it to recognize it for what it was. But was he in the right year? The right place? Or had the machine spit him out so close in time to Kyle that he landed right near a battle.

Kyle…It occurred to him that he might be able to see his best friend again. Then again, if he did it might alter the future drastically…but on the other hand, his being here had already changed the time line….unleeesss of course it had always been this way, and the John Connor that travelled back the first time never interfered.

Hearing distant voices fast approaching, the military leader had barely managed to sit up. The action had only caused his head to start spinning so much so that it took him a moment to realize someone was towering over him. Glancing up, the first thing he saw was the barrel of the gun. But it wasn't that that scared him, it was the face of the one holding it.

"Fate has a sense of humor." He muttered to himself, shutting his eyes and collapsed back onto the ground, waiting for the T-800 to blow his head off. After everything...he would die to Skynet's machine anyway.

"Wait!" A feminine voice shouted as a second set of footsteps approached.

His eyes cracked open when he recognized the voice, younger…much younger, yet still familiar.

"Who is it?" The woman asked the T-800 off handedly. "Reese?"

What? The military leaders head swam with confusion and pain as he half lay, bleeding, wounded, and naked on the pavement. Was this truly the right time line? The right year? Sarah wasn't supposed to have a terminator protecting her yet….He felt like he was going to pass out, his entire head buzzing. "…mom?" He shut his eyes again, trying to combat the dizziness and failing as unconsciousness slowly embraced him.

"No." The machine answered, his voice lacking emotion. "John Connor."

"J-John…?" Sarah's eyes widened as she whispered the name more out of shock than question. She studied his scarred face before directing her next words to the machine. "But…this is wrong. You never said anything about this happening. Are you sure it's him?" All the while, she couldn't take her eyes of the sorry mess of a man on the ground. Was this really…could this possibly be the man who would be her son? She thought that…she should at least feel some sort of recognition…or familiarity.

"He is John Connor. This event is not logged in my memory. It's not supposed to happen." The T-800 answered. "I'm picking up mechanical substances within his body. He may be corrupted, I advise we terminate him." He again raised the barrel of the weapon towards John's head but Sarah grabbed his arm.

"No!" She turned to him. "Look at him, machines don't bleed out, do they?" As she spoke, she knelt down at the ma-….at John's side. Her son.

Brushing the hair that was clinging to his forehead away, she frowned. "What happened to you?" She whispered quietly, knowing that he had fallen unconscious. He was older than her, his curly brown hair already graying at the temples. His face was hardened by the life he'd lived, scarred and weathered; but there was still a softness to it, like her own.

Standing and smoothing back the flyaway's from her ponytail, she turned to the man beside her. "Pop's, help me bring him to the truck, we have to go find Reese."

"I am warning you now this is ill advised." Pops spoke but bent to lift the leader of the resistance into his arms.

"If something happens then we'll deal with it as it comes," Sarah spoke and began walking back to the truck, "We always do."

Not answering, the T-800 followed her, climbing into the back of their vehicle and setting down the wounded man. In silence, he turned to then retrieve that terminator that he had just fought and deactivated.

Knowing her protector would deal with the rest of the mess, Sarah climbed into the truck next to John. Pulling a blanket and first aid kit from behind the passenger's seat, she laid it over her son's body for modesty's sake. Then kneeling beside him, she quickly set to work.

This wasn't the first time she had stitched a bullet wound, it was just normally on herself. For most of her life, herself and Pop's had been playing a strange game of cat and mouse with the T-1000 that had tried to kill her as a child. No matter how close it got to killing her, or them killing it, everyone always came out alive and on the run.

Just as she was tying off her stitching, Pop's deposited the deactivated terminator in truck next to them before shutting the back doors and climbing into the driver's seat.

"Kyle Reese should be arriving in our time line shortly. We should make it to his location if we don't experience any more delays." He put the truck in gear and pulled out of the empty lot.

"Maybe he can explain what happened." She spoke absently as she rolled John onto his side to stich the exit wound. Whatever damage the shot had caused, this was the best she could do. They couldn't bring him to a hospital; he wasn't even supposed to exist in 1984.

Tying off her stitching and reaching for bandages, she looked down at his chest, still slowly rising and falling. He had been shot before; the scars he bore proved that. One from a bullet there…and there…and then there were larger ones, like on his face. Shrapnel maybe? They raked across his chest, in ugly red and white lines and puckered skin. Most of them looked old.

She felt a pang of regret knowing that this man…her son, would live the life he would. A soldier, like her, from birth until death; destined always to be on the run, to fight and to be hurt, like he was now.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, she set to work bandaging over her stitching and tried to keep her movements strictly professional. When she finally finished with the most life threatening injury, she scanned the rest of his body pushing any emotional thoughts away. He looked like he had had a nose bleed, which there was nothing she could help with, the blood was already dried. There were also bandages around his leg, just above his knee. Whatever injury they concealed had reopened at some point, soaking the gauze with blood and running down his leg.

Lifting the bandages, she hissed when they stuck. Pulling a pair of scissors from the kit, she cut away most of them to reveal an already stitched bullet wound about two inches above his knee. More than one of the stitches seemed to have torn, causing the young woman to frown. She couldn't fix that. There was nothing she could do but rebandage the wound.

Doing just that, she was almost finished when she heard a groan. Quickly securing the gauze, she shuffled on her knees to look down into John's face. Placing a reassuring hand on his chest, she realized that she hadn't had the time to wipe the dried blood from his face and neck.

"Hey.." She spoke quietly to him. "You'll be ok, you're safe."

"...Mom?" He croaked, mind desperately trying to process what was happening. Unlike his previous bout of unconsciousness however, the events of the previous day flooded back in short order. Opening blue, bloodshot eyes, they met with a pair equal in color.

"Sarah Connor." Pops called to her from the driver's seat.

Looking over her shoulder, she turned back to John smiling reassuringly. "Just give me one second." Turning away, she moved to the passenger seat in time to see the department store come into view. There was a police car parked in front. "Good, so he's still there." Pops had explained to her the progression on events from his file, but they had both come to the conclusion that Kyle Reese was in very real danger from the T-1000 that had been after them.

"Typical…" She muttered at the familiar flash of silver and the distant sound of shots being fired from within the department store. "Just drive right through." She paused, turning to shout into the back of the truck. "John! Brace yourself."

Regaining his senses quickly, the resistance leader took a short assessment of his surroundings and the situation. He was in 1984, having been rescued by Sarah of all people and what most definitely appeared to be a T-800. Reprogrammed, he assumed, remembering his own past and the terminator he'd befriended. What he didn't understand is why. Why were Sarah and that machine together? This was before Reese even appeared in the time line. She wasn't supposed to be a soldier.

He had just been pulling himself to a sitting position when he heard her warning. Years of training and battle kicking in, he pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the sudden burning pain in his shoulder and braced himself against the bench and wall. The truck suddenly jerked violently, sending a new searing pain down his arm and across his chest and he fought not to be thrown across the truck.

Coming then to a lurching stop, he took a moment to pull the blanket that had been draped over him around his waist, steadying his breath.

In the front passenger seat, Sarah kicked the door open. As she did, much to the surprise of Kyle who had just stood up from behind a counter, she emptied a clip into the approaching T-1000. "Come with me if you want to live." The dumb expression on his face caused Sarah a flicker of annoyance. "NOW Soldier!"

At the shout, Reese moved, launching himself through the open door and nearly into Sarah's lap. Before the door was even shut, Pop's shifted gears, reversing at full speed out of the store and onto the street.

Maneuvering himself off of the young woman, Reese had barely caught his balance before his eyes fell on the person driving. No…not a person, a terminator. "Sarah!" He shouted, scrambling to grab her gun. Pulling it away from him, Sarah grabbed him by the front of the shirt, holding him still and stopping his struggling.  
"You stop and you listen to me. He's with us, programmed to protect me. You will not harm him."

"It's a terminator! not a him!" Still panicking, Kyle reached again for the gun but was met with a startling slap. Stunned, he finally turned his eyes to meet the woman who he was just about sitting on.

"Things have changed, Reese." Sarah grit out into his face. "I'm not a damsel that needs you to protect me. Pop's and I have been doing just fine without you."  
Finally calming, the soldier stared at her for a moment before setting wary eyes on the machine driving. It glanced at him, catching his eyes before turned them back to the road. "My primary mission is to protect Sarah Connor, a mission that you yourself also have."

Not gracing the machine with an answer, Kyle finally stepped into the space between the two seats. "You named it?" He questioned Sarah dully.

"He's basically raised me, Reese." Sarah stared at him exasperated. "Let's wait until we get somewhere safe before we talk."

"Fine." The solider frowned, glancing down at the driver once more. "But I have a lot of questions."

Having found an old pair work paints once the truck settled at a regular speed, John listened to the conversation in the front as he pulled them on. His shoulder ached, the pain radiating across his chest and down his arm, but his arm was able to function and that was mostly what mattered. Grimacing as he buttoned them, he considered the current situation.

Something had changed drastically for this past to be taking place. Was it what happened to him? His travelling back in time? No…it had to be more than that…something Skynet did?

Looking up at Kyle's back, he almost spoke when something crashed into the back of the truck, causing the back doors to come unhinged and open. The impact sent John flying into the corner of the wall just beside the entrance to the cab. Taking hold of the interior parts of the wall, he grit his teeth, shutting his eyes as the pain passed.

Shouting, Kyle turned, frantic eyes zeroing in on their pursuer. He had a clear view of the T-1000 when the terminator shot out the front glass of the police cruiser. "You're gun!" He shouted over the rev of their persuers engine and the whip of the wind.

Still seemingly level headed and calm, Sarah handed him the handgun. Focused on the mission, Kyle darted into the back of the truck, past the unseen man pressed against the wall, to stand beside the open door and began firing at the T-1000. Kicking out the damaged front window of the cruiser, the terminator began spilling out of the glass almost like liquid.

"Shit." The soldier swore as he took a step back. Swearing again when his gun clicked empty, Kyle was just about to call for another clip or better yet a second gun, when a shot whizzed by him. Connecting with the nearly formed T-1000 in an explosive rain of fire, the cruiser crashed and spun leaving it and its passenger in fiery wreckage.

Watching as the wreck was left behind, Kyle finally turned back to Sarah who had fired the shot. "Th-" He started but stopped when he realized it hadn't been the young woman. There, braced against the wall in the back of the cabbie, rocket launcher in hand and face a mess of blood, was John.


	4. Chapter 4

Jaw slack and eyes wide, Kyle could do nothing but stare. The presence of his friend and mentor wasn't computing in his head. The entire situation was so strange…and totally…couldn't be happening. The last time he'd seen John he'd been….

"Kyle." John finally spoke, a tiny smile lifting the corner of his mouth. He dropped the heavy weapon down to his side, leaning heavily on the steel wall.

"John..." The soldier breathed, finally snapping out of his shock. In a long stride that might as well have been a run, he crossed the truck and pulled his leader into a desperate and relieved hug. "This is impossible."

The older man grimaced from pain at the embrace but fell into it all the same. He patted the man on the back with the hand that wasn't grasping the hefty gun. It was like the tension finally left his body. He was with the two people he trusted and loved above all others. "It's really good to see you."

Releasing John and stepping away he noticed the grimace on his friends face. "Shit, sorry." He stammered, eyes falling to study the wounds John bore. "What happened?"

"Then you don't know either?" Sarah finally spoke up, stepping into the back of the compartment and taking a seat on one of the benches. "Someone needs to start talking."

"John." Reese regarded him, with a worried expression of his own. "Right before I disappeared…I saw you get shot. How are you…alive?" He trailed off, not wanting to think about what would have happened if John had died. He'd seen it nearly happen before and even thinking about it was like a knife right through his ribs. He had worried about it since the moment he landed in that ally. Seeing his friend and mentor alive was in incredible relief.

Brow furrowing, John slid down onto the bench as well, setting the weapon down at his feet. "It wasn't a normal terminator unit." Thinking back to the brutal and efficient way the seemingly invisible AI had been nearly caused him to shudder. "Its goal hadn't been to kill me."

"What then?" Sarah asked, regarding the man with less emotion then was held on Reese's face. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. This was indeed Sarah Connor, but she wasn't his mom. There was no reason why she'd feel any love towards him.

"It captured me." Flashes of the torture he endured at Skynets hands flashed through his head and made him feel like he was going to be sick.

"John…" Reese spoke softly, sitting down beside Sarah and leaning forward. "What did it do?"

The resistance leader paused, looking down at his hands for a moment. "Skynet had begun experimenting on people, trying to fuse machine and human anatomy at a cellular level."

"Those trials failed." The deep voice resonated from the T-800 in the drivers seat. "Any attempts Skynet made at creating a T-3000 model resulted in the subjects dying or going insane."

"But you escaped…" Kyle searched his friends face, worry for the man clear in his voice. "Right?"

"Pops said that your body had been corrupted by machine parts." Sarah stood slowly from her seat, slowly reaching for the closest gun that hung on the wall near her.

John looked up, pain crossing his face at Sarah's reaction. Slumping back against the wall in defeat he sighed deeply, shaking his head.

"You didn't escape." Kyle said flatly, staring at him.

"Not until after Skynet tested on me." If the T-800 was correct about Skynets technology still being in his system what did that mean for him? "I don't know what it did. But as far as I know it didn't work. I only escaped after." His words resulted in a quiet swear from Kyle as the soldier ran his hands through his cropped hair.

Regarding him with worry and suspicion, Sarah slowly sat down again. "You don't feel any different?"

"I don't have any urge to kill you, if that's what you're asking."

"I'm only trying to be safe." Sarah snapped at him. "I've had Skynet trying to kill me all of my life, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the turn this took."

"You're just like I remember." The anger on Sarah's face melted into surprise at the words. "So much younger, but just the same." It had hurt so much when she had passed in his own timeline. Being with her now was surreal. "I would never hurt you."

Leaving Sarah to stare at him with those wide blue eyes, Kyle finally spoke. "What about you though, are you ok? You look like shit."

"I've been shot before, I'll be fine." He sent a small smile towards the soldier. "It feels better now than it did." It occurred to him then that his leg barely hurt at all. The searing, lasting pain that bullet wounds normally caused just wasn't there. Instead there was a dull, quiet ache that he almost overlooked. Looking down, he eyes his leg, wanting to grasp it but not wanting to scare the others in the truck.

"Yeah, and the last time you said that you were bleeding out in my arms." Kyle frowned, eying his mentor accusingly. That was probably one of the worst days in his entire life.

"Those were different circumstances."

Kyle only frowned, not bothering to continue the argument. John always had the final say, particularly when it came to his own wellbeing. Then again, he seemed to always have the answers. He was after all, the Prophet.

"We've arrived." Again the T-800 spoke as he pulled the truck into what appeared to be an abandoned factory. What was it with terminators and factory's? John mused as he gazed out the unhinged back doors.

"Wait. If we stop here won't it catch us?" Kyle stood up, looking from John to Sarah, concern in his voice.

Looking at him with a raised brow, the young woman only shouldered a rifle from where it hung on the wall and hopped out of the vehicle. "That's the idea."

-  
Authors notes:  
If anyone has any ideas or plot points on where to go with this story I'd love to hear them. Normally when I write a fic I have most of it mapped out in my head. But this one I'm flying blind. I should never write while emotional lol


	5. Chapter 5

"What changed?" Kyle questioned as he unloaded the final duffle's from the truck and carried them towards his awaiting companions.

"What do you mean?" Sarah looked at him dully.

Catching on immediately, John spoke. "This timeline…" He mused, readjusting Sarah's high powered rifle that was slung over his shoulder. "It's not the one that I remember. Something so drastic happened it changed everything completely."

"Could it have been you?" Sarah looked up at the man who was to be her son.

"I don't know, maybe. By leaving my own time I allow Skynet complete control of the future. But by being in its past I pose a bigger threat." He frowned, his face looking even more grizzled by the dried blood that still caked it.

"You think that Skynet did something?" Kyle regarded his friend.

Walking over to them and dropping the deactivated body of the other terminator Pop's spoke. "We don't have much time before the T-1000 reacquires our position."

"He's right, we can have this conversation after we deal with the problem at hand." Sarah had just bent to pick up one of the duffles when Pop's spoke again.

"We have 30 seconds." But before the words were completely out of his mouth, the sounds of shattering glass could be heard across the room.

"Or less." The T-800 finished.

"Oh great…" Kyle growled sarcastically, setting an annoyed gaze on the T-800 "Couldn't have said a thing earlier…"

"Just go! Go!" John yelled, taking command as he would in his own time line. Raising the rifle and ignoring his screaming shoulder he took aim at the approaching T-1000. Keeping Sarah in his peripherals as she grabbed up a weapon, he wasn't satisfied until she and Kyle disappeared around the corner.

Without stopping the terminator crafted and threw a spear of its own metal towards Pops pinning him to the wall. A shot rang out then, causing it to pause when a bullet tore through its head, then its chest. Stopping to recover, the T-1000 finally paused taking a moment to assess the threat and situation. Ignoring another shot that tore through it, the machine looked down at the deactivated T-800 on the ground. It only took a moment for him to reactivate it using a drop of his own matter.

"Shit…" John growled when he saw the T-800 rise, turning to run down the tunnels himself. He had just limped around the corner when he nearly collided with Kyle.

"Since when do you disobey orders?" John spoke, glancing back as he limped along beside the soldier.

"Since you've been shot." Reese turned to fire a spattering of bullets from his automatic at the T-800 that just rounded the corner behind them. "I'm not going to let you die, John."

"You're mission is Sarah, not me, Reese." The resistance leader growled as he pulled the solder down a separate hallway with a firm grip on his sleeve just in time for a rain of bullets to fly past them. It seemed that the terminator had appropriated one of their own weapons for its use against them.

"If you haven't noticed, she's not the same helpless woman from your past. Not to mention you can barely keep up with me."

"We'll talk about this later." John grit out, counting the seconds that it would take for the terminator to round the corner behind them. Turning sharply when he heard the footsteps echo at the end of the hall, he dropped to one knee. Letting a slow and calming breath out, John looked down the high powered rifles sight before pulling the trigger.

Just turning the corner and still about 30 feet away the T-800 stumbled and then fell, the bullet tearing completely through the metal of its head and blasting it near in half. It came crashing to the ground, skidding towards the grimly satisfied John and the surprised Reese. "You should know by now that I can handle myself." He looked up from his crouch at the soldier. "Go, find Sarah. I'll be fine."

Looking down at him, Kyle's surprise turned into a frown. It wasn't that he didn't trust John to look after himself; he was just overwhelmingly worried about that man. Swallowing, Reese nodded and then turned, running down the corridor to find the young woman.

Waiting for his friend to disappear around the bend, John grimaced in pain. He had noticed Sarah's confidence when she spoke of dealing with the T-1000. It seemed she, and her T-800 had been planning for it and he fully believed that they would succeed in destroying it. Sarah was so strong already, and with Reese by her side…

By her side…..Reese would survive. The sudden revelation caused John to fall from his knee into a sitting position on the ground. In this altered timeline…and with the T-800 lying dead at his feet…Reese would survive. His heart soared at the realization that he hadn't sent his friend and ally to his death. But with this future…and the tension that he could feel between his friend and the young woman…what did that mean for him? For his future? He supposed it didn't matter; this was a different timeline than his own already. Even if he wasn't conceived, it wouldn't affect him as he was now, it would only mean there would be no John Connor of this timeline.

Deciding that it was an issue to consider at a later time, John looked down to his knee, an issue that was more pressing. Frowning, he pondered for a moment not looking. Did he really want to see it? He already thought that he knew what was going on…and he was afraid of being right. Setting his jaw, he rolled up the baggy pant leg to view the bandage Sarah had applied in the truck. Carefully picking open the fastening, he started slowly unwinding the gauze, stopping just before he was able to view the actual wound. Letting out a breath, he pulled the bandage free.

At a quick glance, it looked normal, the skin red and raw and puckered around the torn stitches. But at a closer glance he saw silver, moving under his skin and knitting together the damage almost before his eyes. Crying out slightly he jerked his eyes away, heart clenching almost painfully.

No…no no nonono…this couldn't be happening. This couldn't be. Letting his eyes bore into the ceiling for a moment, he took a calming breath before looking down at the wound again. Did this mean Skynet had succeeded? Was it spreading like a virus in his body or had it already done what it was going to do? Would it…change him? Had Sarah's fears in the truck been right? Was he at any moment at risk of suddenly turning on his family?

Not bothering to rebandage the wound; he let his pant leg drop, gritting his teeth. He needed to find Kyle and Sarah, make sure that they were ok. He needed to tell the- No.

Hand closing around the rifle, he pushed himself to his feet. No….he couldn't tell them. Sarah was already uneasy about what Skynet had done to him as it was, and her T-800 could easily kill him. But Kyle….Kyle might understand. He had vowed to follow him no matter what. They had a friendship beyond just commander and soldier. Kyle would understand…

Turning to limp down the hall in the direction that the soldier had went, he gripped the rifle tighter. He would tell them…just not….yet.

-  
Authors note:

Thanks for all the suggestions guys :3 I have an idea what I'm kind of going to do now. But if anything can think of anything interesting definitely tell me in a review! otherwise, I'd love to just hear what you think of it. This fandom is so small we have to all stick together.  
I won't post another chapter for a few days, as I'm at a convention this weekend.


	6. Chapter 6

Rounding the corner just in time to see Sarah's T-800 flicking the remaining parts of the T-1000 from his corroded hand, John stopped. "I didn't doubt for a second."

Sarah looked up at him, relief in her eyes before turning back to the T-800. "We were planning this for a long time." Pulling a spray can from her belt she began generously dousing the now bare steel hand that was presented to her. "It was about time we got rid of that thing."

"About time?" Kyle, who had been watching her tending to Pop's with an unimpressed expression, questioned.

"That's the T-1000 that attacked me when I was a child. We've been trying to destroy it for years." Setting the can on the ground, she strode past the two men down the hall followed closely by Pops. "Follow me."

With a glance at Reese, John turned to follow the woman but felt a hand on his shoulder. "John…" The soldier started. "Are you ok?"

"I told you, Kyle, I'm fine." Reese only furrowed his brow, keeping his hand resting on the resistance leader's bare shoulder. He'd known John for most of his life; the man was like a father to him. And there was definitely something off that took him until now to realize what it was. From the moment John had rounded the corner a few minutes ago, he refused to look him in the eye.

"No. I know that there's something going on." The soldier pressed, not letting the issue drop. His expression softened then as he studied his friend's scarred face. "You can tell me."

John met Reese's gaze then, own eyes softening at the expression the soldier had. "Kyle.." He started but trailed off with a sigh. "You need to keep focused on the mission. You're here for a reason. Protect Sarah. Stay by her side. In this timeline, she is more important than I am." He diverted his friends question with a pang of regret. What would have happened if he had just told him the truth? He remembered then that there was more than one truth to tell the young man.

"I've protected you all my life; I won't just abandon you now. And as you just saw, she and her 'machine' are more than capable" He spat the word machine as if it were poison on his tongue.

"And as you know, I am more than capable of protecting myself as well." John spoke, exasperated. "But it's more than that. She needs more than just the T-800 at her side, Reese, she needs you. Even if she doesn't know it."

"Um, guys?" Both men looked up startled to see the young woman peeking around the corner. "You coming or…?"

"Yes." John looked at the soldier with an expectant expression. "We were just discussing something." Feeling Kyle's hand finally drop from his shoulder, he turned to follow the woman, feeling Reese's gaze boring into his back.

The factory had been abandoned a long time ago. But the facilities still mostly functioned. Sarah had set up her space along with Pops in the group of rooms that the workers of the factory had used to change.  
Explaining as she walked, the young woman showed a grateful John Connor to a room with showers that still miraculously worked.

"You can clean up here." Sarah explained, studying the man's face with intent eyes. "I'll go look for clothes that will fit you."

"Thank you." John nodded to her, glancing at Kyle expectantly before stepping into the room.

Following Sarah and Pops, Kyle watched the young woman in front of him. She looked just like she had in the picture. Same, eyes, same mouth...and she was so much like the stories John had always told him of her…except…those stories took place so much further in the future. The Sarah had caught him off guard. But seeing her in action only rekindled the fire her had for her. If not for his worry about John, he wouldn't WANT to leave her side.

She was bull headed, stubborn, and infuriating…but so was he. And he admired her for it.

"I can't believe he's actually here…" Sarah turned back to look at the soldier following him.

"John? Yeah…" Kyle answered her passively.

"You're worried about him." Her words were more a statement than a question.

"There's something up with him. He's worried, I can see it in his eyes." Kyle spoke, stepping up so he could walk beside her instead of lagging behind. "I don't think I've ever seen John Connor afraid in my life….but now…"

"Pops had a lot of files about him, John Connor, the military leader…" She trailed off, glancing at him. "He's not what I expected."

"He's always been larger than life, even from the day I met him." Kyle laughed, reminiscing. "First time I ever saw him, he shot a terminator right in front of me. I was just a kid at the time… Didn't even know they could be killed. He saved my life.  
"I followed him around like a lost dog after that. Everyone saw him as the leader, the messiah, the prophet. But to me he's like family. He's always seemed to show a side to me that no one else sees. I think I'm one of the only people who sees John the man, not just the leader."

Thinking about how ironic that was, Sarah furrowed her brow, stopping her stride to look up at Reese. Staying his feet as well, Kyle continued.

"He always knew exactly what was coming, at every turn. Always so sure that we would succeed….and we always did. He always attributed his success to you. The legend, Sarah Connor." He glanced down at the woman only to see her look away embarrassed.

"Y'know he told me a lot about you…" Kyle trailed off when she began walking away again. He followed her, lengthening his stride to keep pace with her quick one. "I would die for you Sarah, just as I'd die for John."

"I don't want you to die for me, Reese." The woman snapped causing the man pause. "…Sorry.." She trailed off. "I just…I've had so many people….everyone.."

"No." Kyle, touched her shoulder, causing her eyes to dart up to his. The same eyes that John had. "It's ok. I understand.." He nodded, letting his hand fall away.

Looking up at him for a moment, Sarah's face softened. "If you could help Pops go retrieve the bags from the entrance I'm going to go find John something to wear."

Looking from Sarah to the T-800 who was about ten strides ahead, Kyle rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath. Despite his better judgement he obliged however, nodding to the woman before walking ahead to catch up to the terminator.


	7. Chapter 7

Reaching for the tap, John didn't even think to ask for soap, nor even look for it. In his time, during the war, it was not a luxury they could afford. In fact, water in general was not one so readily used for bathing. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually showed. So when the stream of water fell onto his shoulders, rolling down his back, not even the icy cold dissuaded him.

It was so surreal that for just a moment he let a tiny smile pull at his lips as he just stood under the stream. Raising his face towards the water, it washed over his skin, beginning its task of chipping away the blood, old and new. He was in a time without the constant threat of death, no machines that were calling him a primary target; no constant worry that at any moment a bomb might fall on your head.

His moment was quickly over when he caught his reflection in a mounted mirror to his left and everything came rushing back to his mind. Raising his hands to help the water wash away the blood, John kept glancing towards the mirror.  
He looked terrible, like he hadn't slept in days; which was for the most part true. His eyes were sunken and dark, and his face seemed more gaunt than usual. Days old stubble was turning into what might be called a beard very soon. The only thing that made him look better was the now absence of blood.

Moving then to his shoulder, his hands hovered over than bandage for a moment before peeling it off. Even as the hours passed it was causing him less and less pain. Stepping out of the stream of water, he moved to study it in the mirror. Even with the low light he could see the silver specks moving beneath his skin. Blood still trickled from it which made him feel better. It meant that he was still human.

Moving back to the shower, he quickly washed off the remaining blood from his leg and shoulder before twisting the tap off. Glancing around, he then picked up a discarded towel from the bench, not even considering if it was clean or not. He was just in the process of drying off when there was a knock at the door.

"I have clothes for you." Sarah's voice echoed through the room. She was standing in the doorway, back turned to show him modesty and hand thrust behind her, holding folded clothes.

Bare feet padding across the tile, he accepted the garments. "Thank you." His voice seemed subdued, as if he was deep in thought.

Sarah stared down at the floor deciding not to turn around as she tucked her now empty hand in her pocket. "You know, Reese is worried about you."

John laughed quietly, pulling on the better fitting pair of cargo pants as he spoke. "He's always been like that after I've been injured. I'll be fine."

"He said that he sees you like family…" Sarah trailed off. "It's strange how he said, 'like', isn't it? He doesn't know, does he?" When her question was met with lasting silence, she finally turned, watching the man adjust the shirt he's just pulled on. "John?"

"No." The man finally spoke, meeting her gaze. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you know ." He turned away with a sigh, picking up the damp towel to rub through his hair.

"Then you've been manipulating him?" The woman's eyes narrowed for a moment, trying to understand. She wouldn't let Reese love her and die. So how could her son make that choice so easily to a man who sees him as family?

"No." The word was spoken firmly, his eyes snapping to meet hers. "I didn't tell him because he needed to make his own choices. He needed to come to his own conclusions about you. He volunteered to come here." He wanted to say her name to punctuation his argument but couldn't decide if either 'Sarah', or 'Mom' would be appropriate.

"But you knew who he was all along. You allowed him to come here knowing what would happen." Surprise registered within her when she saw John lower his eyes as if in defeat.

"It was…almost impossible…to make that decision." John set the towel back on the bench, turning his back to her. "Kyle is like family to me, it wouldn't have changed even if we weren't actually related. He's my closest friend and confidant and it killed me to let him go back."

Sarah only swallowed, stepping towards the man, listening intently as he continued. He ran a hand through his still damp hair, shaking his head. "I didn't have a choice. To stop Kyle from going meant the end of my existence, but to send him meant the end of his. I spent a lot of time hoping that…maybe something would be different, that in that particular set of events he would survive…"

"I'm sorry." Sarah stepped around the man to take a look at his pained face. "I understand how it feels to not have a choice. It seems like it's both of our fates."

John let out a snort. "Maybe not anymore…" He looked down at her, studying her face up close for the first time. She was so young, her face round and soft still and lacking the visible toll that the war would inevitably put on her. "This timeline…this can be a restart for you. You and Reese….if you choose." Taking her gently by the shoulders, he looked down at her, expression intense. "We know what will happen , with Reese you can destroy Skynet or stop it from ever happening."

Blue eyes wide, Sarah stared up into his face. "But…what about you? You're saying that….but…you wouldn't exist…"

He shook his head. "I am a relic of a different timeline. Whatever happens in this future…it won't affect me as I am now. As for the John Connor of this timeline…I'll leave that up to you."

Mouth parting slightly, Sarah finally understood what Reese had been saying about her son. John was so strong, even now while displaced in time he was prepared to make the hardest of decisions. He wasn't selfish but realistic, and behind that warrior hardened wall, there was a kindness to him. Not even thinking, she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him.

The somber expression was slowly replaced by a crooked smile as he returned her embrace. He thought for a moment about telling her about his problem then but quickly shot it down. She was finally accepting him as an ally and friend rather than a possible threat. He wouldn't damage their relationship now. Not with something he didn't fully understand yet himself.

Sarah rested her head on John's strong chest, mind racing. Could she possibly delete this man's future from her timeline? He had done the impossible and given her a choice, one that had been gnawing at her for years. Could she live with herself if she turned around and used it to stop John from existing? The truth was, she was scared; scared of the future he had…scared of the life that he would live…scared of the consequences that the sequence of events caused.

But after hearing Kyle speak of him, and after spending time in his presence she realized that she wanted to know him. She wanted to raise the child that would become this man. And she would be proud to be his mother.

Finally pulling away, Sarah spoke again. "What about Kyle? Should we…tell him?"

"Under the circumstances…." The resistance leader furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "Probably. This is his timeline now. He deserves to know…"

"Do you….?" The young woman let the question hang in the air, looking up at him expectantly.

John only nodded solemnly. "I'll tell him."

Nodding, Sarah took a few steps back and glaced the man over. He looked better now that she could see his face, even though without the grime and dirt, his scars seemed more pronounced. She also noticed him favoring his shoulder and regretting hugging him like she did.  
"I can rebandage your shoulder and leg for you if you want. They probably need changing." At her words the woman witnessed something pass across John's face then. Pain? No….fear. Reese had said that something was indeed up with John. He had said that he was afraid…and that was definitely a flicker of worry if not fear. His next words only furthered her suspicions despite being spoken calmly and rationally.

"It can wait. There are more pressing issues than me right now. I'll see to it when I have the time." Mind racing with worry, the resistance leader desperately hoped that the young woman wouldn't pick up on his distress. Thankfully, she only shrugged and motioned for him to follow her.

"Then I suppose I'll explain the plan to you and Reese then." 


	8. Chapter 8

Following Sarah through the halls, John made sure to put on a limp. The gun shot was mostly healed now, and he couldn't have the young woman suspicious of him. Knowing full well how deceptive that sounded even to him, the military leader reran all of the reasons he justified the decision through his mind. Sarah Connor was a sharp woman, paranoid and precise, as was he.

Raising his chin he let his well-honed poker face settle into place. It was the expression he wore whenever he was unsure of a decision; whenever something happened that he did not foresee and he had an army looking at him for support. There was so much he knew about that future; and again so much he did not. He was the prophet because he had to be, the savior because he was the only one who could do it. In that future he could not afford to be afraid, so he didn't allow anyone to see it.

In the past days he found that he was letting that attitude slip. He was afraid, more than he'd ever been in his life. Initially he had thought that whatever was clawing in his chest was the fear that he would hurt his family, that whatever Skynet had done to him would cause him to change. He was beginning to realize that it was more than that. He was afraid that his arrogance had cost them the war. Had he not let down his guard….had he not been so sure that he'd won could he have stopped this? There was also anger…at what Skynet for what it had to do him….and at himself for allowing it. He was angry that after years of struggle and death and pain he'd allowed the machines to chase him from the war. There was a deep set panic in his mind that he'd lost….failed.

The fact that he was now in the past was the only saving grace of the situation. This was now a battle for the future, a battle for Skynet's future. He had a chance to rectify every mistake he had made. And that meant he still had to be John Connor the leader. John Connor the messiah. John Connor the unafraid.

So when Kyle and Pops rounded the corner, he didn't allow any of his inner demons flash across his face. There was a job to do.

"Sir." Reese greeted, recognizing John's game face immediately. His friend looked better now, granted a little pale and scruffy.

"Everything has been moved from the truck and either disposed of or stored." Pops spoke, falling into step just a stride in front of Sarah.

"Good." The young woman nodded, wearing a game face of her own. Turning to Reese and John who fell into step behind her, she spoke. "We've been planning this for a long time."

"Destroying the T-1000." John spoke causing her to nod.

"And Reese's arrival. You were the only surprise." They turned a corner and descended a flight of stairs into a large room. Once the contents of the room came into view, it caused both John and Kyle to stop dead. The shock even broke through the resistance leader's poker face.

"Is that-?" Reese started but fell silent.

"A time displacement device." John spoke taking a few stunned steps forward.

"It looks…" The shock finally wore off the soldier and he crossed his arms sceptically. "...like a piece of junk."

Stepping up beside the T-800 who was at the controls John studied the set up. "This technology is ancient…" He mused out loud.

"It is fully functional apart from the processor. The technology of this time has not developed enough to make a chip strong enough to work." Pops spoke, not looking up from the data he was inputting into the machine.

"Did you get it?" Sarah approached Pops on his other side, looking up at him expectantly.

"Yes." Pops responded, producing a slightly battered processor from his inner pocket. "The damage to T-800 was extensive but the processor is undamaged."

"You were waiting for the terminator to come so you could use its processor...You couldn't exactly have used your own." Reese spoke…eyes then darting from Pops over to John. "Damn, what are the chances that your shot managed to miss that thing."

The Resistance leader let out a slight whistle. "I blew its head near in half. I just wished I'd known that it was needed. Normally the processor is what I aim for."

"Either way…" Sarah interrupted the conversation. "Now that we have it, we can travel to 1997 and stop Skynet."

A strange look passed over Reese's face then before he spoke. "No…" He glanced from Sarah's confused expression to John's questioning one.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Sarah's voice held anger and she approached him. "If you haven't noticed everything has changed. I'm not going to wait around for the apocalypse to happen. We have a chance to stop Skynet and I'm going to take it."

"You're right." Kyle trying to cut in but was lost in the momentum of her words. It actually took her a moment to understand he had even spoken and looked at him quizzically. "You're right..." He tried again now that he had her attention. "But not 1997." John raised his head and crossed his arms, looking at his friend just as confused as Sarah was.

"2017." Kyle answered with finality.  
"The war is well underway at that point, you know that." John furrowed his brow.

"When I was being sent through time…" Reese looked down at the dusty cement floor, deep in thought. "I saw a different future. Same house, same parents…but there was no war yet. It was my twelfth birthday….." He spoke as if in broken thoughts. "Skynet is genesis…October 2017…"

Sarah scoffed, cutting him off. "Just because you had some weird dream doesn't change anything."

"Unless he was exposed to a matrix point while in the time stream." Pops spoke, turning his head and setting an unwavering gaze on Reese. "If he was exposed to a moment where the timeline was changed while within the stream, it could result in memories of both timelines."

"If that's the case then why don't I remember both pasts?" John questioned, poker face in place.

"The new time line must have already been set in place when you entered the stream." The T-800 reasoned.

"Ooor….Reese has just lost his mind." Sarah spoke, looking in between the three men. "You can't actually believe this?"

"I know what I saw. I know where we have to go." Reese stepped towards the woman looking into her eyes. "It's an impossible future. But I know…I know it's real."

Sarah regarded him for a moment with furrowed brows before speaking. "No. We go to 1997."

"Wait." John pondered the situation for a brief moment before finally stepped forward. "This can't be a decision made lightly."

"Why should I trust you? Either of you?" Doubt filled the young woman's mind. This had been their plan for years. Hours, weeks, years of work and planning went into this machine. She had one chance at this…she had one chance to change the future. She had one chance to save her and her family from the fate that wouldn't seem to let them loose. Everything was getting so screwed up…what was she supposed to believe? Could she possibly alter her plans now? "I don't even know either of you…" Her words came out a whisper.

"But I know you." John said reassuringly, stepping in front of her to take her shoulders. "I might be the only person alive to know how it feels…to want to break away from your fate. But Sarah, this is your chance. Remember what I told you. This time line is already different. From the moment I sent Reese back everything has changed. You as you are, are a product of a new time line. I time line different than our own." His blue eyes bore into hers, reassuring. "I trust Kyle with my life." He broke his gaze to glance at the soldier whose expression was one of emotion before turning back to her. "Mom…please trust me on this one."

Shaking her head, Sarah swallowed. This was John…this was her son. This was the man who had lived through the war…who had years of experience beyond hers in fighting Skynet; who had a vast knowledge of the future, hers included. And this was the man who seemed so sure in telling her to believe some crazy story. Did it make her crazy as well for trusting him?

Licking her lips, she let out a shaky breath. "So we go to 2017…then what?"

"Skynet is a computer program. As long as it's still being coded it's contained." Kyle spoke as John stepped back from the young woman.

"So we blow it the hell up…" Sarah spoke solemnly, a small smile tugging at her mouth.

"We blow it the hell up." Kyle grinned, nodding.

Sarah's smile suddenly turned into a frown as she glanced around the room. "Except…" She stumbled over the words. "The device can only take two…"

"I will not be going." Pops answered her, raising his bare mechanical hand. "My skin will take years to regrow."

"Pops…" The young woman shook her head in denial.

"Nothing that isn't encased completely in tissue can enter the magnetic field." The T-800 continued. "I cannot."

"I won't go either." All three heads spun to stare at the resistance leader.

"But John, you know more tha-" Reese started but what quickly cut off.

"Kyle, this isn't my timeline. I'm as much in the dark as you, if not more so. You're the one with the memories. It has to be you. It's always had to be you." John's expression changed then to one of sincerity.

"But…I don't…" Kyle stuttered, shaking his head at his friend. "This isn't my timeline either…"

John sighed dropping the entire pretense of commander and soldier. This was it…this was the day he thought would never come. In the past there were times when he wanted more than anything to tell Reese the truth. Times where he wanted to give the man something more than just stories of Sarah to hold on to. On more than one occasion it almost physically pained him not to tell Reese how important he really was, not just to the future, but to him.

"Kyle…" John started, furrowing his brow. "There are things that I could never tell you…things about the future."

"What…" Reese stuttered stepping away as his eyes darted around to each face in the room, all turned to him. "What's…what are you talking about?" He finally let his stare fall back onto his friend.  
Limping over to the stunned man, John stopped a few strides away. "I don't know if I've ever told you this but you mean a lot to me, Reese. I've always seen you as family." He chose the words carefully, speaking slowly. Of all the times he fantasized about telling the young man the truth, he never actually rehearsed what he would say.

"John…" The soldier's expression softened. "what…"

"I need you to know, I never manipulated you. That brave, stupid, spunky kid would have always become my friend, even if I didn't know what I did." The resistance commander felt his heart tug, hoping that Reese would take the news well.

"Know what…" Reese deadpanned, staring worriedly at his friend.

"That it was you who was sent back into the past."

Kyle's mouth hung open for a second before he shook his head. "You knew…but…I.."

"And I knew that you fell in love with Sarah."

At the words Kyle shook his head, about to deny that claim but was cut off.

"Kyle, you're my father…. In our timeline, you are my father." John spit the words out finally, heart thundering and thoughts racing. Telling the young man had been more difficult than he ever thought it would be.

Reese only stared at his friend in shocked silence, jaw hanging open. His eyes drifted from John then to Sarah who didn't seem at all surprised with the revelation. It took him a few long minutes to actually form words. "This.." He whispered. "…this is…a joke…" But even as he spoke the words, the look of John's face told him otherwise. "You're…my…" He took a step towards the resistance leader who smiled reassuringly at him.

"Yeah."

Turning wide eyes to Sarah he spoke. "You knew…" he stuttered, his words eliciting a nod. "You knew that…we….have a son…" He let out a tiny hysterical laugh, raising his hands to run them through his hair.

"Kyle..." John spoke, taking a cautious step towards him.

"You…" the soldier dropped his hands to his sides, shaking his head. "You're my son?" Still shaking his head, he strode over to the resistance leader. Unsure of Kyle's expression and intentions, John tensed considerably until strong arms were suddenly wrapped around him. Relaxing almost immediately, he returned the hug.  
Laughing genuinely, Reese spoke into the so familiar brown curly hair, not yet pulling away. "You're my son….that is so fucked up."

Letting out a short laugh as well, John nodded, finally stepping away. Rolling his injured shoulder as if in pain, he spoke. "I'm sorry I could tell you before. I couldn't take your free will away from you."

"And now?" The soldier asked, expression a mix of confusion and something akin to happiness.

"The time line has changed. It's entirely possible that a John Connor of this time line doesn't even exist."

Reese's eyes widened in understanding as he turned slowly to set a gaze on the embarrassed Sarah, who was quietly and patiently standing beside Pops. "Oh." Was his only reaction. "But…Wouldn't…you stop existing then?"

"As far as I figure I'm stranded in a time line I never should have been in. Nothing you do will affect this version of me."

Finally cutting into the conversation, Sarah spoke. "But wait….you said that we should go ahead to 2017." Sarah stepped towards him. "How old are you now? You won't survive that long if you don't come with us will you? We'd leave you here to die…"

John nodded solemnly and Kyle's gaze spun quickly to regard the man who would be his son. "I finally learn who you are and you expect me to leave you here? I can't…."

"You will. You have to." John took the man by the shoulders, staring him hard in the eye. "You know now why it's so important that you go. This is your fate, not mine."

Kyle swallowed, nodding. Was this how John felt when he sent him into the past? A final goodbye? It hurt like a knife sliding between his ribs. Unlike when he left for the past, his mind had been occupied with saving Sarah, a woman he did indeed love. But this…meant leaving John, his best friend, to die.

"What will you do?" Sarah questioned from across the room causing the resistance leader to meet her gaze.

"I'll help you're T-800 prepare for your arrival for as long as I can. After that..." He trailed off, shrugging. He hadn't really thought about it. It was like when Reese asked what he would do after the war. What WOULD he do in a peaceful world where he could grow old and die?

"And you?" Sarah looked up at Pops, sadness in her eyes at the thought of leaving him.

"I will do as John Connor said. Prepare for you arrival."

The young woman only nodded, brow furrowed. "Ok then..." She said grimly. "Let's get ready."

Authors notes:

Now that the con I was at is over I can write longer chapters yay! Pardon me for my probably wrongly described technical lingo. I would go back and watch it so I could actually quote the lines but I don't really want to pirate it. I've seen genysis in theaters 3 times already so I'm just trying to do my best with what I remember. Kind of have a plan to see it again in the next few days.

On another note, I'm loving hearing what you all think. Any idea's or thoughts on maybe little things to add into the future? Giving me ideas helps me with plot and story lining for the fic even if I don't go down that road. :3 Thanks to all the people who have already reviewed and given me your ideas! We gotta stick together in this tiny little fandom.


	9. Chapter 9

"This feels familiar…" Kyle spoke, pulling off his jacket and turning eyes to John who perched on a bench not ten feet away. John nodded solemnly, glancing up at his friend. He never really considered the man his father despite knowing that they had the blood relation. To him, Reese was his friend…family in a different way. The soldier had a sour look on his face, and John figured he knew why.

"Don't regret leaving me, Kyle." John met his friend's eyes with a stern gaze.

"How can I not? You'll be stranded in this timeline." Reese spoke bitterly as he pulled off his shirt, showcasing his own impressive array of scars.

"I'll be ok here. Free to work against Skynet without Terminators bearing down on me. When you went into the past, you left me in a worse time than this is."

"It still feels wrong." The soldier shook his head, sitting down so he could undo and remove his shoes. He stilled for a moment in thought, before speaking again. "Just…don't try and fuck around with events enough to change the date of anything. I still want to be able to walk into a proper timeline."

John laughed. "There he is." The Kyle he knew. "I'll definitely wait for you before taking any considerable offensive. I'd need my second in command for anything significant anyway."

Both men stood, Kyle nodding and appearing as if he was biting his lip. Stepping over, John patting the man on the shoulder. "Look after her, Kyle. I have no idea what will happen in this timeline and…. it's unsettling."

"I would even if you didn't ask." Both of them knew well enough that Kyle loved the young woman. He would die to protect her.

"And.." John stopped him just as he was about to walk ahead. "Kyle." He looked the other man in the eye, his expression solemn and intense. "Look after yourself. Just…be careful."

"Yeah." Reese frowned, seeing the worry in John's eyes. "Of course."

With that, both walked back to the larger room, meeting Sarah who was already there and wearing only a trench. John stepped over to join Pops at the controls as Kyle then joined Sarah in climbing the stairs leading up the side of the machine.

"I have inputted the coordinates." Pops spoke as the two shrugged off the remainder of their clothes to stand naked on the machines platform.

"Sarah." John spoke drawing the young woman's gaze. "Look after him. You've got my best friend up there with you." A smile tugged at Sarah's lips as she chanced a quick glance up at Reese's face.

"I'll definitely try. From what I've seen I'm not sure how you kept him alive so long though."

Reese rolled his eyes but met his friends gaze with a solemn nod. He then turned his gaze down to Sarah. "What will it feel like?" She whispered.

"It'll hurt." The soldier answered honestly, setting his arm across her shoulder when the blue light of the machine lit up. When the magnetic field activated, Sarah pulled him towards her in a surprised gasp. Lowering his head to press against her hair when their feel left the ground, Kyle held onto the young woman tightly. Not long now…As the rings began their final cycle of quick spins he sent a desperate look up at John, relieved when he saw the man standing and watching ,completely ok, rather than a repeat of the last time he'd time travelled. In a moment the two were gone, pulled through time and leaving the rings to spin down and fall back into place.

John let out a sigh, staring at the empty machine. What left him surprised was that the T-800, dubbed Pops, was doing the same thing. "She'll be ok." He spoke, glancing over at the terminator.

"There is nothing of Kyle Reese that I've seen that suggests he is a fit protector for Sarah Connor." Pops turned his unwavering gaze over to regard the resistance leader.

"Perhaps not you, but I have. We both know Kyle would die for her, check your files." He didn't want to believe his friend would die. Not in this timeline, he wouldn't let that happen.

"I know." The T-800's response surprised him. This terminators AI…appeared to have become attached to his mother. John knew it was possible, it happened to him when he had been a child after all.

"You don't have to worry anyway. As far as they know, you'll never have left them, right? It's only time passing for us, when they arrive, you'll be there." Ideally he would be there too.

….  
The next few days passed long and slow for John. His time was mostly taken by helping Pops dismantle and clear out the now useless time displacement device. The machine had only one good go to it. The processor chip was now fried, and not minutes after Sarah and Kyle had disappeared most power to the city was knocked out.  
Keeping the machine intact would only risk discovery. It could be argued that they could wait and try again but there would be no other processor coming into existence soon enough to use anyway.

During those first few days John had had a bad feeling in his stomach, but it wasn't until the third day did he truly accept that something was going seriously wrong. He hadn't been able to sleep the second or third night, and instead laid awake, mind racing. Food made him ill and he soon realized that it didn't matter for how long he didn't eat he just wasn't hungry.

That morning when he had peered into the mirror he realized that the bullet wound that had torn right through his shoulder was nothing but a scar. Swallowing, he chose to ignore it and instead pulled a T-shirt on to hide the unsettling evidence.

Lost in thought and with a scowl plastered on his face, the resistance leader left his newly acquired quarters and took the short walk towards the large room that housed the device. He didn't even think twice when he moved passed Pops to size up what still needed to be dismantled and removed. He hadn't slept and should be tired….he should be tired but he wasn't.

Remembering what Sarah had taught him about social constructs, Pops looked up from what he had been doing at the control panel to greet the man but stopped. Something was different about the resistance leader since the night previous. Pops had been picking up on the subtle changes and was monitoring them, but today was a bit more than subtle.

Scanning the man's body he realized what then was so different. Displayed across his sight in red lines and print was a layout of John's body. He wasn't reading as human anymore. The layout that was displayed across his vision was that of a T-3000. To be sure, he did a secondary can. Indeed the machine phase within the man was wide spread and entrenched enough to make him read as a T-3000, but there was also a significant amount of human anatomy as well. But he couldn't take any chances.

Programming kicking in, Pops stepped away from the console and retrieved a shot gun that had been propped against the wall for the past few days. Picking it up, he turned towards the other in the room.

"John Connor." He spoke, raising the barrel of the gun towards the resistance leader. The existence of a T-3000 was a threat to his Sarah. He wouldn't allow anything to happen to her. He had to dispose of the threat as soon as possible.

Looking up just in time to see the gun raised towards him, John dived for cover, swearing loudly. Managing to clear the splatter range of the shot gun just in time, he huffed a breath while scrambling for a better barrier.

"What the hell are you doing!?" He shouted, when he heard the audible 'kachunk' of the shotgun being reloaded.

"Your scan is now reading as a T-3000. You are a threat to Sarah Connor." He unloaded another round towards John's position.

Ducking his head when the bullets impacted on the other side of the steel, the man let the words sink in. Was that….was that true? Had Skynet actually succeeded in it's endeavor? Was it spreading in his body so much that he would soon no longer be John Connor? Would he become a threat to Sarah? To Reese? Just at that thought alone he actually considered for a moment stepping out and taking a shot to the chest but decided against it. His body was slowly changing, yes. But his mind was still unaffected. He was still John Connor.

"I won't let you kill me!" He finally called, ducking around the other side of the half dismantled device as Pops reloaded.  
"You don't have a choice." The T-800 responded, letting his gaze wander room. Hearing movement on the other side of the room, he let loose a shot towards it.

When the bullets hit the floor just in front of him, John scrambled to take cover. There was always the option of fighting back but he didn't want to do that. This was Sarah's T-800, his task was so protect her….and for all intents and purposes that's what he was doing. Pops was in the right and John couldn't hurt him.

Back pressed against the base of the Time device, John's eyes fell on the back door. It was about 40 feet away and up a flight of 5 stairs. About an equal distance away in the opposite direction from his position was more than a ton of death machine gunning for him. Hearing the 'Kachunk' of the gun being reloaded he peeked his head around the corner, baiting the shot. At the bang, he pulled his head back and then made a mad dash across the room toward the door.

Nearly leaping up the stairs in one bound, he was through the door and down the hall in less than ten seconds. Hearing the door near bust off its hinges behind him just as he turned a corner caused his heart to leap in fear. Forcing his legs to go as fast as he could, he turned one corner, then a second. Getting back into his war time head space, for a moment he was back in his own time, being hunted by a T-800. He was unarmed and couldn't harm the thing…. This had to be a stealth mission.

He had lost Pops about 4 turns back and every now and again heard the ominous thump of heavy footfalls as he crept through the halls. Heart thundering in his ears, John finally rounded the bend that led to the exit. Staying in the shadows he peered around the corner. Clear.

Making a break for it, he was about 2 feet from the door before pain seared through his chest. Forcing himself to keep going, the resistance leader didn't even bother shutting and locking the door. Despite it being steel reinforced, the strength of the T-800 would blow it right off its hinges.

Keeping running and not even daring to look down at his chest where the searing pain was radiating from, John leapt up onto the platform that still held the parked truck. Knowing full well that the keys to the vehicle were kept in its visor, he took a chance on time by opening the driver's door and swinging into the seat. Grabbing the keys and inserting them in one motion, he had just kicked it into reverse when Pops landed on the hood of the truck.

Eyes wide and teeth clenched in panic and pain, John reversed out of the building at full speed before swinging the vehicle around in a fast and practiced movement that had Pops flying 30 feet to skid across the pavement. Not even glancing over to see where the T-800 landed the resistance leader shifted gears and was peeling out of the gated lot.

It was still early, maybe 4:30 in the morning which allowed the man to continue his speed in the near deserted streets for almost 10 minutes before slowing down on the inner city roads. The truck had been the only vehicle in the warehouse. If Pops had decided to follow him it would have taken him some time to find and appropriate something to drive.

Still breathing hard, John stopped the truck behind another parked car and got out. Kicking the door open, he hit the pavement and began to run. Slowing to a jog when he was about five blocks away, he ducked into an ally and leaned against the brick wall. Gasping for breath, he slid down to collapse on the filthy pavement.

Finally, now that he wasn't in immediate danger, was John able to acknowledge that he'd been shot. Grunting in pain, he pulled his blood soaked T-shirt up to view the wound. It must have been from a handgun or rifle because it was a single clean shot. Having entered through his back, which he couldn't see, it had exited about two inches under his collarbone and three right of his heart.

Realizing that it should be fatal, having probably damaged one of his lungs, John look a closer look in the dim orange street light. Silver flecks were already visibly mending the damage under his skin. They moved alongside his human flesh as blood generously flowed from the wound. So despite him showing on Pops' scan as more machine than human…he was still human enough. Human enough to bleed….and human enough to be in pain.

Letting out a shuddered breath, the adrenaline of the chase wore off and John felt tired for the first time in days. He shut his eyes but then decided against it. Not here. Grimacing, he pulled himself to his feet and staggered deeper down the ally, hand pressed against the chest wound to stem the blood flow.

He had to find somewhere to hide….somewhere…safe….

...  
Authors notes:  
I wrote this chapter at the same time I wrote chapter eight. I find I like to sit on chapters before posting them just so it feels like I update more often XD


	10. Chapter 10

Slamming into the pavement hard for the second time in two days, Kyle quickly came to his senses. The second time was no less painful or disorienting. But with Sarah still huddled and shivering in his arms, something inside of him forced his mind from dizziness.

It didn't take more than a few seconds to realize where they were…and that they were in immediate danger. With wide eyes and a shout, he pulled Sarah up and twisted her around. Taking the full force of the car colliding with them into his back, Kyle flew forward, taking Sarah with him. The two rolled a few feet before coming to a painful and injured stop.

Gritting his teeth, Reese he got to his knees, cradling the woman as she let out a whimper. "Shhh, I've got you…" He whispered, smoothing her hair back from her face. "You're safe, I've got you." Her wide darting eyes finally fell on him, calming slightly. "I've got you…"

The sound of sirens filled the air as Kyle looked around nervously at the gathering crowd of gawkers. "Sarah…" He whispered quietly, turning his attention back to her. "Can you walk? We need to get out of here."

Blue eyes still wide, the woman nodded, allowing Kyle to help her to her feet. But before they had even decided where to go, or how about to get out of the situation someone shouted at them. "Freeze!"

Arms still wrapped protectively around the young woman, Kyle eyed down the cop who was currently aiming a gun at them. "Don't move, or I will fire." By the look in his eye, he would indeed do just that.

"Shit…" Kyle swore under his breath, glancing around the crowd. This was not good. They couldn't afford to be arrested…but then again, they couldn't exactly make an escape either.

They ended up waiting it out, standing awkwardly holding each other until what seemed like an entire fleet of police and emergency vehicle arrived on the scene. It was at least a relief when blankets were draped around them, even if they were being cuffed and led to an awaiting truck.

They didn't speak again until they were alone in the back of the police van.

"What are we going to do now?" Sarah spoke in frustration, finally over the shock and confusion that the time jump had caused. "They think we're terrorists."

Not understanding Sarah's meaning in the word 'terrorists' or its application, Reese ignored her outburst. "I've gotten out of pretty bad situations, this shouldn't be too hard."

"This isn't the future, Reese. These are humans, and we're naked and cuffed in a van." Sarah scowled at him.

"It's not like it's my fault we landed where we did." Kyle answered her scowl with one of his own. "How about you give us an idea, miss 'in charge'. Or better yet, how bout you explain to me why your machine didn't show up. I knew we couldn't trust him."

Sarah gasped, visibly taken aback. "Excuse you. He's done a lot more for me than you ever have. He's probably following us now with a plan."

"It's not even human! It probably malfunctioned somewhere and shut down. We can't depend on it to get us out of here, Sarah." Her name came out way more condescending then he intended and her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Look, I don't know what you think, but I don't need you. You and me? We're not a thing. I don't know you and you don't know me or my life." He tugged the blanket tighter around herself, glowering at the man across from her. "I don't need your help."

Sighing, Reese tried to calm his raging frustration at the situation. "Look…" He expected her to cut him off but she didn't. "Maybe he's coming, maybe he's not. But the thing is, he's not here now. It's just us; just me and you in this situation." He tried to catch her eye but she wouldn't look at him. "If we see a way out, we take it. We can't afford to wait around. There's only so much time."

"Fine." Sarah spoke, face stony. "Truce….for now." She added as if as an afterthought.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the tension thick in the air. It pressed in on Kyle uncomfortably until he couldn't stand it anymore. "I'm sorry…" He sighed deeply, shaking his head. "You're right, I don't know you." He thought he had. For years, he thought that he was one of the few people who could say that they knew Sarah Connor. The young woman turned her gaze to him, slightly surprised but mostly wearing a straight expression.

"I just…didn't ever have the luxury of trusting anyone much. Terminators slipped through the cracks more than once, they're the masters of infiltration. So many people…" He spoke quietly, trailing off with the memory and shaking his head. "And now you want me to trust one…I'm just not so sure I can."

Listening to the apology, the young woman's face softened slightly. "Then trust me." Her eyes met his and he only looked at her for a moment before nodding, glancing away.

"What do you…think happened to John?" He finally spoke the words neither of them wanted to.

"I don't know." Sarah shook her head. "I don't know….."

Having been led into a hospital brimming mostly with police, and to a guarded room for treatment there was still no sign of the T-800. Opting not to mention it again, Kyle kept his eyes and mind sharp as he pulled on the hospital gown and allowed his hands to be cuffed behind him. There had to be some way out, something that these people missed that they could use.

Across from him, sitting on a separate bed Sarah did the same. Doctors hovered around until finally one arrived to tend to her back.  
"You sure you don't want a general?" the young tech questioned her. His brows rose when the young woman shook her head.

"Just do what she wants." Reese spoke as he watched. "It's a lot easier."

Sarah rolled her eyes as the tech just shrugged and began stapling the wound. She was about to try and tune out the pain when her mind zero'd in on something else. "What about Genisys?" She spat out loudly, causing the tech who had mentioned it to stop in surprise. He had been having a quiet conversation using his Bluetooth about the launch of the new app.

Pulling out his phone and ending his call, he held it up for both Sarah and Kyle to glimpse. "Genisys. How could you not have heard of it, it's huge."

"Humor us." Kyle spoke, setting a piercing gaze on the man.

To glad to start rumbling excited about the app, the tech spoke. "Genysis is a new world wide app. Once it launches it will wirelessly and automatically connect every piece of technology I own. My phone will link to my laptop, to my tablet, to my car…everything online and connected all the time." His expression was smug as he looked at the awed faced of the two patients.

Sarah turned her eyes to the countdown shown on the tiny screen. So that was its launch time? But it was reading less than 72 hours…

"If you would please excuse us doctors." A group of well-dressed officers walked in then, interrupting the conversation. One in particular practically bowled them all over to get into the front of the group. He was an older man, not dressed quite as sharply as the rest and wearing thin rimmed glasses.

"I knew it!" He exclaimed, stepping in between the two beds so he could turn to stare back and forth between Sarah and Kyle. "I recognize him." He pointed an accusing finger at Reese who actually leaned back, a frown on his face. "He looks just the same as he in 1984!" The older man exclaimed before turning to Sarah. "Her too!"

Turning back to Reese, he actually addressed the soldier this time. "Do you recognize me? I mean, I was a lot younger with more hair back then and not quite so…well.." He trailed off, motioning to his entire self before starting up again. "You saved my life. I was a uniform cop in L.A." He paused glancing back and forth between the two. "Who are you people?"

Recognition sparked within Kyle , knowing immediately who this man was. Looking from the cop to Sarah, a little grin spread across his face. Understanding what he was getting at, the young woman shot him a look. The threat was clear in her eyes, but he decided that this was the best plan that either had come up with yet.

"Sargent. Techcom. DM38496 Kyle Reese, you need to let us go."

"Please don't." Sarah tried to cut him off but her words were lost as the older man spoke.

"Soldier." He nodded. "Me too. Joined the marines straight out of high school. 1979. What year did you enlist?"

Kyle's eyes flickered from Sarah's death glare to the cops excited one. "2021."

A wide grin spread across the cops face like he had just got a puppy for Christmas. Behind him Sarah rolled her eyes in exasperation. "yeah…yeah…I knew it." The man's grin only grew wider, head bobbing up and down as if on its own accord. "You're a time traveller."

"Look, don't listen to him. He has a head wound." Sarah interjected.

"Don't listen to me?" Reese scoffed. "Who landed us in high density traffic and got us caught by these morons-"

"I am ordering you to shut up." Her words were carrying more and more anger as she went.

"That's all you know how to do, isn't it? Order people." He raised his head, looking down his nose at her. "You realize you haven't had a proper relationship with a human being since you were a kid-?"

"Yeah, well it's your fault we're stuck here, I trusted you-"

"My fault?" Reese raised his voice. "You got us caught, now you're going to get us killed!" He jumped to his feet, surging towards her as she did the same. Surprised and taking an elbow to the gut, the older cop stumbled back, knocking a tray of surgical tools to the floor as well as the two still cuffed patients.  
Both landing awkwardly on the floor, they were only there a moment before being pulled to their feet again by more than one surprised and frustrated cop.

"Homelands here." One man spoke who had only stood back and witnessed the entire thing with a skeptical and tired expression. "You two are officially not our problem." He turned away with a huff. "O'Brian, I want to talk to you."

Watching the two prisoners get recuffed to the hospital bed by a single wrist, the older cop's shoulders drooped at the words. He then moved to slink along behind his commander as if a scolded dog. In a matter of moments, Kyle and Sarah were finally alone.

Looking at him with a dull and almost hurt expression, Sarah spoke. "You were very convincing."  
Still huffing for breath but grinning triumphantly, the soldier raised a pair of tweezers into her view. "Yeah well, worked didn't it." Turning, he began the quick task of unlocking his cuffs. "Don't worry," He glanced up at her as she began to do the same. "I didn't mean most of what I said." Hopping off the bed once his wrist was freed, he trotted over to Sarah about to do the same.

At Kyle's reaching hands, Sarah threw up her own to thwart him. "I got it! I can do it!" she spoke in frustration.

Reaching forward, Reese gently took her wrist in his hand, looking up to meet her eye before inserting the tweezers into the lock. "Me unlocking you cuffs doesn't mean you're not capable." This was something that he always knew, something that even came across in the old stories John told him of Sarah. She was so self-dependant. Maybe it was because of her upbringing, or maybe it was a personality quirk, but there was always that burning desire to get things done by herself. It had just taken this long to start understanding it firsthand. This woman had to be his partner, not a civilian that he should protect.

"I didn't say it did." She shot back defensively, only making him even more sure of his realization. "And don't think me holding onto you naked meant anything….because it…certainly didn't." She added on as an afterthought.

There it was. So she had been thinking about that, had she? "I didn't say it did." He answered quietly, freeing her hand and taking a step back.

Quiet voices in the hall drew their attention from whatever moment they were having. Sarah hopped off the bed, glancing frantically around the room for some way of escape. Kyle was about to join her but stopped dead in his tracks when the voice spoke again, just outside of the door.

"It…It can't be…." Reese whispered, turning a slack jawed and wide eyed gaze towards the door as it swung open. He wasn't sure what he expected. But for a moment, when John Connor walked through that door it seemed like the most normal thing in the world.

Stopping her frantic pacing, Sarah also turned to give the man a shocked stare. "John?"

...  
Authors notes

I know this one was probably a little bit redundant next to the movie, but it had to be done. I mean, I guess I could have skipped straight to the hospital room but...meh. Things won't be so tame in the next chapter hopefully. Thank you for the reviews guys! It makes me so happy hearing your thoughts and knowing it's not just me who loves these characters.


	11. Chapter 11

Letting out a relieved breath Kyle took a step towards the man, a smile growing on his face but he quickly stopped. His friend didn't look a day older than he had staring up at them from the control panel when they disappeared. Except…that had been over 30 years ago. He looked the same; curly brown hair still slightly graying at the temples and dishevelled. He was clean shaven, scars pronounced on his face. The business suit he was wearing looked out of place on him but not bad.

Expression confused and almost bordering on hurt, Kyle spoke. "That can't really be you."

John's smiled slightly. It was a sad smile, his brows coming together. "It's me." He spoke solemnly.

Finally breaking out of her own shock and coming to the same conclusion as Reese, Sarah spoke. "Prove it." She was on edge, her face guarded and her posture making it seem like she was ready to bolt at any moment.

John glanced at the ground for a moment before looking up to meet Kyle's gaze. "During the Nagadosha offensive I gave you something. No one else saw, it was just me and you. A picture; of Sarah as she is now. It fell out of your pocket onto the table when you were changing to make the first trip through the time displacement device."

As the resistance leader spoke, Kyle's face grew pale, heart thundering. Letting out a tiny breath, he didn't even realize his feet were moving until his arms were wrapped around his best friend. "John…" He tightened his grip, holding onto the man as if he would disappear. He was so distracted; he didn't even feel the presence of the body armor worn under the man's suit.

Swallowing, John shut his eyes and let out a long breath, resting his chin on Kyle's shoulder. "It's…really good to see you." The older man spoke quietly, throat tightening. He'd spent the past thirty three years alone and on the run. He was a relic of a timeline long gone, a drifter and a ghost lost in time, to afraid of what would happen if anyone got closer than an acquaintance. This…This moment was the first time he finally left like he was home.

Patting Kyle on the back and gently pulling away, he set a genuine smile at the man, a very rare thing for him. Turning then to Sarah's still wide eyed and confused stare, he swallowed. "You hate lullaby's. You love Elton John. And you always said that if you had a kid you would sing him Rocketman." His mouth lifted into a smile again. "But I'm sorry, you have the voice of a dying cat, you really do." He let out a short and emotion driven laugh.

"John.." Sarah breathed, stance finally relaxing. "That's…that's really you."

The man let out another little laugh as she cautiously stepped over to him. He had almost forgotten how very small she was next to him. When she wrapped her arms around him, the top of her head barely reached his shoulder. Carefully pulling her close, John let out a relieved breath.

Kyle and Sarah had seen him only days previous and this was nothing more than them reuniting with a man they thought they'd never see again. But for him….this was a reunion of thirty years. It felt like if he held them too close they would slip away like it was all just a dream.

"How?" Sarah whispered, pulling away from him to look up at his scarred face.

"It's a long story." Thirty three years long. John thought bitterly. "This isn't the time or place for that."

"He's right." Kyle stepped up beside John, gripping his shoulder as if still not sure he was real. The placement of his hand was meant to reassure himself, but it was like an anchor for the resistance leader as well.

Letting out a long breath and putting on his game face, John moved. "I'm going to get you both out of here. One moment." Walking briskly to the door, he cracked it open and called for the two cops who had been on guard to enter. But as they stepped past, their stun guns were slipped smoothly from their holsters and shot simultaneously into their backs. Shutting the door again, John stooped to pluck the two guns from the officers' holsters. Without missing a beat, he then stepped forward to the surprised Kyle and handed him one. "Cuff them." He nodded to the cops as he moved to hand Sarah the other weapon. "Just gimmie a minute to figure a way out of here."

Truth was, when it came to his attention that Sarah and Reese had been taken to this hospital he hadn't even stopped to think of a plan. It just showed how very desperate he'd been to see the two, that he had gone for a 'storm the castle' type tactic rather than his usual precise military operation.

Peering out the sliding glass doors on the other side of the room, his mind raced with the possibilities. They were all in a lot of danger, all for very different reasons.

Once the cops had been subdued, John turned back to the two. Glancing around the room as he formed a plan, he strode over to one of the cabinets on the wall. Not finding what he needed, he moved to a second. Pulling out nurses wear, he tossed the garments to each of his companions. "I'd rather get out of here without killing anyone." John spoke, turning back to the glass to peer out. There was a guard that passed down the hall every five minutes. If they timed it right, they wouldn't be seen leaving at all.

Kyle moved up beside him, now wearing the hospital attire to peer out the glass as well. John held up a hand as a motion to wait without even glancing at the soldier. Seeing the guard pass at the end of the hall, he nodded to the two. "Let's go."

Taking the lead, John strode down the hall as if it was something that he did every day. Lagging slightly behind him Reese and Sarah looked a little more awkward. Taking a left and moving quickly away from the room and any potential suspicion, Sarah finally spoke. "How did you find us?"

"This." John pulled a touch phone out of his pocket. "Someone filmed you on the freeway using one."

"They all have them.." Sarah remarked, gazing wide eyed as they passed person after person, medical staff and patients alike using the same type of technology. It didn't even register to her that her son having on was odd.

"This is the world now." John glanced down at her for a moment before slipping the phone back into an inner pocket. "Plugged in. Logged on." He said absently as they came up to another turn.

"Genysis is a trogen horse. Skynet's way into everything." The woman whispered, eyes darting around to see even more hand held devices. It was like a nightmare. "They're inviting in their own destruction and they don't even know it."

John nodded grimly, glancing up at a mirror that was set into the high corner. Holding an arm out, he stopped Sarah from taking another step. Kyle already had his eyes focused on the reflection as well. Coming along the joining hall was the same group of cops from earlier, minus O'brian but with the addition of two more suits.

Mind racing and mapping possible escape routes, John backtracked. "Here." He yanked open the door leading to the stairwell and ushered the two in before him. Stepping in after them, the door clicked shut just as the group of cops rounded the corner.

"How do you know all of this?" Kyle questioned, voice echoing in the stairway as the three quickly descended onto the lowest floor. "Did you manage to get the machine working again? Travel into the future to meet us?"

Thinking of a response, John took the lead again when they reached the door to the parkade. Opening it and making sure it was clear, he stepped cautiously into the lot. "That's one of those things that we're supposed to be talking about when we're safe."

"Why isn't Pops with you?" Sarah finally asked, slowing to a stop as she looked up at her son. Something had been making her uneasy about the entire thing and she suddenly realized that it was the absence of her protector.

Stopping as well, John looked down at the pavement. "We got separated. He's fine." How was he supposed to tell her that he'd been dodging bullets from her T-800 for three decades? Not to mention that he had only managed to dodge about half of those bullets.

"But where is he? Is he coming? Is he in the hospital?" Sarah looked back at the door as if she were planning on running back through it.

"Did something happen?" Kyle finally questioned, watching the panicked expression pass over his friends face at the mere mention of Pops. At the words, Sarah's wide blue eyes looked up at him in fear.

"He's fine. I promise you." John met her gaze, speaking with sincerity.  
The sound of slowly and deliberate footsteps suddenly echoed across the lowly lit parkade then. Looking up wide eyed and expecting the broad and leather clan terminator to round the corner, he quickly realized that it was not. No…the dark silhouette in the shadows of the parkade that came into view was so much worse.

The man had a narrow face, high cheek bones and cropped brown hair. Clad in finely fitting pants and a leather jacket, he could be seen pulling something out of its interior even while he was nearing them. A handgun.

Stomach dropping and heart skipping more than one beat, time seemed to slow down for the resistance leader. Pretty much body checking Kyle, he sent the man flying almost ten feet behind a row of parked cars to skid, groaning out of the line of fire. With his other arm he swept Sarah into his embrace and turned his back towards the approaching man just as the first ringing shots exited the gun.

Sarah cried out when Reese was sent flying with strength that seemed impossible for a human to possess. She nearly started to struggle against her sons iron grasp when his body jerked as if something impacted with it. He was curled over her, head ducked into his chest and teeth bared in determination and pain. Body jerking twice more, he stumbled forward a step.

Mouth opening slightly in horror Sarah finally realized what was happening. "John…" she whispered, panicked as she felt the tremor of another impact through his chest. How many bullets had he just taken for her? Looking up into his pained expression with one of horror, Sarah gripped his suit jacket. The shine of blood could be seen on his bared and gritted teeth and it terrified her. "We need to run, come on..."

Forcing his mind and body to function past the pain, John twisted, tossing Sarah in a similar fashion towards the now rising Kyle. Turning in the same movement, he withdrew a handgun from where it had been tucked in the small of his back and raised it towards the approaching man. Even as he did so, he accepted another shot to the chest causing him to stumble back slightly.

Injured but not deterred, he fired off a round towards the machine, all the while wheezing and well aware of the blood soaking his clothes. He knew that despite the body armor that he wore like a second skin those shots had got to him…and had got to him good.

"John!" It was more of a shriek than a scream which sounded odd coming from the soldier. Kyle had just been recovering and pushing himself from the ground when he saw his friend get shot. Every bullet the man took after that was like one to his own heart. "John!" He screamed again, literally scrambling across the ground to get the aggressor in a line of fire of his own.

John couldn't die. He couldn't. After all this time….after all of the battles they fought and the years they spent crawling through the mud and the bodies of fallen friends, Reese couldn't believe that the great John Connor would be gunned down here and now.

As John emptied his clip, he managed to catch the machine in both the head and the firing arm, causing it to stumble back and stop its assault. With the approaching machine still a few yards and away and distracted, the man took the moment to stumble for cover himself.  
He probably would have fallen on his face had Kyle not been there to catch him and prop him in a sitting position beside the car. "You have to run." He wheezed, gripping Reese's sleeve in his free hand. "Run, now. I'll distract him."

Kyle shook his head vigorously, eyes scanning his friend's chest wide and panicked. His hands hovered just above the blood soaked fabric as if he wasn't sure which bullet wound to apply pressure to. "I'm not going to leave you. I never have, I never will."

Sarah's small hand reached forward to grip her sons shoulder. "John.."

"You have to go, he'll kill us all." The resistance leader threw as much urgency into the voice as possible when the echoing footsteps started again, closing in. In desperation he could probably ignore the damage and fend off this enemy for long enough for his parents to escape. He would give his life for that cause.

A sudden loud shot echoed through the room as another set of footsteps approached, then the kachunk if a shotgun being reloaded before another ringing blast. Speeding up, the steps neared and the large, darkly clad form launched himself past the view between the parked cars to collide with the aggressor.

"Pops!" Sarah cried out, turning her head from her son to the two machines now fighting out in the open space of the car lot.

Swallowing, John swore internally. Great. Now both of the biggest threats to his life were under the same roof… he tried to calculate his actual chances of surviving the ordeal. This was probably the worst punishment he'd ever taken in the past thirty years. It had taken him decades to finally understand to what extend the machine phase matter had altered his anatomy, and even longer to figure out he could control it to some degree. Most of his internal organs were affected by the change, but not in a manner that they could stop functioning. His heart still pumped human blood through his veins and he still needed air to survive. The difference was that he could take a shot that was fatal to a human and survive.  
The first time Pops had shot him had only been the beginning. Since then, he'd realized that he could take multiple fatal injuries and keep on going. Damage to his lungs was always the worst, leaving him gasping and wheezing and in pain for hours, days even, as the phase matter struggled to deal with his human anatomy and remove the blood from his lungs…as it was no doubt doing now.

He let out a short wet laugh as he pictured his chest looking like swiss cheese. Strength slowly being sapped by the internal battle to repair the damage, John found his eyes sliding shit. Being injured was usually one of the few times he actually needed to sleep. He just needed time…to rest…to regenerate...

Unfortunately for his parents, his eyes sliding shut in fatigue looked a little too much like death. "No!" Kyle screamed. Shaking visibly, the soldier rested his hands on either side of Johns face. "Damn it, you can't die. You can't." Tears built in his eyes, causing them to turn glossy but not spilling over.

"I'll be fine, Kyle…" John wheezed cracking his eyes open to meet his father's gaze. His mouth turned up in a small but sincere smile. It was the same thing he always told the young man when he was injured. "You need to go…get out of here…while he's distracted."

Sitting back on her heels, Sarah had both hands pressed over her mouth. John was dying before her eyes and it was her fault. Her son…her family… The thought of her family made fear slice through her. Pops was perhaps even closer to her heart than John…and that thing was going to kill him. She wasn't going to allow Pops die like that as well, she couldn't. She couldn't lose two members of her family in the same day to the same foe. Hardening her face in resolve, the young woman jumped to her feet to follow the crashing sounds and the piles of wreckage that the fight had caused. "Sarah!" Kyle shouted, panicked as the woman disappeared from view.

Looking back down at John, the soldier's expression was a mix of indecision and sorrow. He had to choose between being there as his best friend and recently acquired son died…or save the woman he loved…. John's mother and the future.  
"Kyle." The resistance leader reached up to squeeze the man's arm. "Go. Help her." He wasn't going anywhere any time soon anyway. His healing process usually took anywhere from thirty minutes to more than a couple hours considering the extent of the damage. He was thinking that this damage in particular would fall into the couple of days category.

With a cry of despair, Reese got to his feet and sprinted away in pursuit of Sarah. He had seen so many people die in his life time so it should have been easier…but never John…it was never John…

It was never John…..

...  
Authors notes:  
I just have...all of these...emotions...


	12. Chapter 12

Trying to ignore the devastation that came with leaving John, Kyle forced himself into his war time head space. There was a mission that had to be completed, a mission that was bigger than him and his feelings. He couldn't let emotions cloud his judgement and dull his focus.

Putting on a steely expression, the soldier ran through the parkade. Crushed cars, shards of metal and chunks of cement littered the pavement. It was pretty obvious that whoever had come at them guns blazing was pretty goddamn strong.

Slowing his gait, he could hear the distant sounds of squealing metal and screaming people. Just follow the mayhem…he thought to himself as he turned toward the large gaping hole in the wall. Stepping through it cautiously, he hopped over debris in what appeared to once be a waiting room. Light fixtures hung, flickering and half destroyed by their wires on the ceiling and cast strange shadows across the room.

Pulling the gun from the waistband of his pants, the soldier followed the sound of the fighting, coming upon it just in time to see the two combatants being dragged towards a strange machine. "Sarah!" He called desperately when he finally laid eyes on her. She was hunched at a panel of controls, probably for the machine.

Looking up at him with haunted, desperate eyes she yelled over the noise the machine was making. "Kyle! Hit that button!"

Complying just at her look alone, he hit the switch and as soon as he did, the whirring power to the machine shut off.

Both falling to the ground, Sarah was at Pop's side in an instant. He was damaged but not extensively and was able to follow Sarah away from the magnetic machine. The second terminator on the other hand seemed to be in perfect condition. Other, of course, than the stunned and confused expression he wore as he tried to rise to his feet.

"Hit it!" Sarah cried as she passed and Kyle pressed the button again.

Being pulled back, the brown haired man gave him a dangerous stare. "Kyle…Reese…" It's voice was distorted by the machine and the sound it emitted, but the words rang clear in the soldiers ears.

Surprised that the terminator knew him, the young man lingered in the door studying the trapped machine. It looked….almost familiar.  
"John…Connor's …second in command…" Its voice was forced, as if it were an effort to speak past the magnetic pull. "I will terminate you…along with my failed experiment…"

Sarah was suddenly gripping Kyle's shoulder. "Come on!" She yelled, spurring the soldier to turn and follow her, shooting a final look back at the machine. There was something about that terminator that made him incredibly uneasy. It had seemed angry…no…not seemed. It WAS angry, and had the expression to prove it. But…terminators weren't able to express emotions. They were programed…machines with AI's simple enough to think and react based on commands.

Trotting along behind Sarah, they returned to the T-800's side just in time to see him slam a fist into his own knee. An audible click was heard and in a moment Pops got back to his feet. "The magnetic pull won't hold him for long." He spoke, already beginning his long legged stride away from the MRI room.

"We have to go back for John." Kyle spoke urgently, picking up his pace to actually pass the T-800's quick gait.

"John Connor is here?" Pops asked, emotionless voice making it sound more like a statement than a question.

Sarah didn't answer and instead let her eyes wander to Reese who had struck out ahead and disappeared out of the hole in the wall. John meant something to her…she wasn't going to deny that. She loved the idea of him, the John Connor that came from the stories that Pops recited to her from his memory drives. She loved the idea of such a strong and brave man being her son. But she didn't know him personally; not really, there just hadn't been enough time. Certainly not in the way Reese did. Those two shared a bond like family, like brothers, something that she could see even in her short time knowing the two.

When one thought about the events and twists in the timeline it would become complicated. But thinking about it as a linear string of events, their relationship was rather simple. John was like a father to Kyle, his mentor and confidant…his best friend and the only family he had. Sarah's heart broke thinking about how he must feel…..the same way she would have felt about losing Pops.

Now in the parkade, Sarah slowed her pace, lagging behind Pops when she noticed Kyle standing not far away. Approaching him, she stopped by his side and looked up into his face. His expression was pained, his fists clenched at his sides.

"We don't have time…" Sarah spoke quietly, laying a hand on his thick arm.

"What if he's dead?" Kyle whispered to her but allowing her to coax him into approaching the place he'd left his injured friend.

In their moment, neither had noticed the T-800 retrieve his lost shotgun from where it had skittered away. Just as they were close enough to see the prone form of John, slumped beside the parked car, Pops stepped up beside them.

"John Connor." The terminator spoke.

To Kyle's shock and relief, the man actually raised his head, setting dull and pained blue eyes on the T-800.  
"John!" The soldier shot forward, skidding on his knees to crouch in front of his friend. How was it possible? He should have bled out by now. Resting his hands on the bloodied shoulders of the resistance leader, his brows furrowed when the blue eyed gaze didn't turn to meet his. Instead, John kept his eyes locked on Pops. Heart thundering, and mind racing, the soldier looked up just in time to see the T-800 raise the barrel of his shot gun to point at John's head.

"No!" Both Reese and Sarah shouted almost in unison; Kyle moving in front of its line of fire as Sarah slammed her body into the T-800's arm.

"Stop! What are you doing!?" The young woman shouted, expression panicked as she watched her protector recover. Pop's only set his unyielding gaze on the young woman as he lowered the weapon slightly.

"You're decision not to terminate him is a tactical error." The T-800 finally spoke, turning his gaze then down at Reese who was glaring angrily up at the machine. When the soldiers hand moved to raise his gun, something stopped him.

"Kyle, don't."

Spinning around at the gasped words, his eyes finally met those of his friend. "John…?" The resistance leader had his wrist in a firm grasp. "What…" For all intents and purposes…John Connor should be dead. They'd both survived a lot of things during the war but he'd seen at least six shots connect with the man. "How are you alive..?"

"-a conversation.." John let go of Reese's wrist, actually managing to get his legs under himself as both Sarah and John stared at him with wide concerned eyes. "-for when we're all safe..'" He finished with a wheeze, supporting his weight on the car.

Snapping out of it, Kyle moved to help his friend. Taking John's arm, he slung it over his shoulder supporting him like they'd done on many occasions in the past. Except when they took a step, Reese nearly buckled under the weight.

"Sorry…" John mumbled, blood trickled from his mouth. He let up a little bit, allowing Kyle to catch his balance before beginning to move again. "There's a-" he wheezed a breath, '-van at the end of the aisle. White…and unmarked."

Looking back and forth between her impossible son and her strange father figure, Sarah nodded, moving towards the van. Falling in stride behind the young woman, Pops kept his finger on the trigger, glancing over his shoulder when Kyle and John followed.

As they came up beside the vehicle, John reached into his inner jacket producing a set of keys. Handing them to Sarah, she took them gingerly well aware of the fact that they were wet with his blood. Passing them to Pops, she gave the terminator a stern look. "Please drive."

When he opened his mouth to protest, she cut him off. "Look, I don't know what has gotten in between you two, but John just saved my life. On the other hand, there's a very dangerous terminator in the building that WILL kill me if we don't get out of here."

Analyzing her words, Pops looked at her for a moment before speaking. "Your logic is sound." He almost sounded frustrated as he turned to enter the driver's door.

Opening the back of the van, it took both Sarah and Kyle to help the resistance leader into it. Stumbling, John caught himself on the inner wall of the vehicle before sliding down to sit against it. Every breath a painful wheeze, he watched as Sarah and Kyle got in after him and shut the door. He wasn't completely at ease until the van was moving.

For the few tense minutes as they waited for the terminator from the hospital to reappear, Kyle crouched next to his injured friend, a hand protectively gripping the man's shoulder. It wasn't until they were finally clear of the building did Kyle speak. "John…" His eyes swept over the bullet ridden and blood soaked fabric of his son's chest. "How are you alive…?"

Not able to meet Kyle's eye, John grimaced. It appeared as an expression of pain, but in reality it as more centered around the idea of trying to explain to his parents. He had always intended to tell them…from that day back in 1984 when he'd come to the realization about what he was, he had always intended to…. But how was he supposed to explain this to them? How would they take the news that he had become a part of something that they hated so much?

"Before I show you…" The resistance leader finally looked up to meet his friend's eyes. "I'm still John Connor. It's still me and I would never hurt you." His eyes flickered over to Sarah who was giving him a pained expression. "Either of you."

"Of course I know that." Reese spoke firmly, sitting back on his heels. "But…show me what?"

Moving slowly and painfully, the older man leaned forward to pull off the torn jacket. Realizing what was happening, Kyle moved to help him. Setting the jacket aside, he pulled the tie from his neck and began unbuttoning the now mostly red dress shirt. Reese's brows rose when he saw what was underneath it. Body armor?

"That's how?" The soldier breathed, now completely sure that John was probably going to die. "But it couldn't have stopped all of the shots. Jesus, John, we need to stop the bleeding."

"No." John said firmly, stopping Kyle's frantic movements before they started. "It helps but it's not how."

Now confused, Reese sat back and watched as his friend pulled the shirt from his shoulders to reveal the blood slicked the black Kevlar, still oozing from the deep grooves the bullets had made.

"Help me." John spoke, spurring Kyle into action. Unbuckling the armor, the young man was all too aware of the tiny sounds of pain his friend made when he helped him pull it over his head. Setting it aside along with the jacket, Kyle finally turned to study the actual extent of the damage.

There were three gaping wounds in total, the sources of the rivers of blood that ran down his scarred skin. And that wasn't even counting the wounds that were most definitely gouged in his back. "John…what-" The soldier stopped mid-sentence when his eyes locked on one of the gunshot wounds. Brows pulling together as if he were trying to understand exactly what he was seeing, his expression slowly turned to one of horror. Slowly rising to his feet, he actually took a step away from the man.  
Sarah, who couldn't see from where she was sitting, stood to step up beside Reese as he moved away. Looking down with furrowed brows, her eyes widened when she caught view of it as well.

Much like a T-1000's regenerative ability, something similar was going on with John. Silver could be seen moving within the wound, and every so often little waves of silver particles seemed to rise from his skin around the damage before disappearing completely back into his body.

"That's…You're…" Sarah stammered, setting her hand on the gun at her waist. Kyle on the other hand could do nothing but shake his head, as if in denial.

Leaning his head back to rest against the wall of the van, John spoke. "It manifested not long after the day you left for 2017." His voice was still a wheeze, his expression one of pain. "Pop's says that my body is more than 50 percent machine phase matter. I show up on his scan as a T-3000."

"But…" Kyle finally stammered. "You're bleeding. Is this…" He trailed off…. Some sort of trick?

"Over 50 percent, Kyle. Not 100."

"So then you're….still human? You're both?" Sarah spoke, suspicion in her voice.

"Yeah." John coughed then, eliciting a groan as he shut his eyes. "Human enough to feel pain… and to bleed."

"Jesus…" Kyle swore finally getting over his shock. Slowly, he knelt down in front of his friend. "This is what Skynet did to you..?" He paused, face almost as pained as John's own. "But it only affected your body?"

There was the question he knew was coming. "It never reached my head." John opened his eyes again, meeting Reese's gaze. "Put a bullet in my brain and I'll die the same as any human." As far as he knew anyway…He'd never actually been shot in the head. But from the little bits of information that he'd pulled from Pops over the years in their run in's he'd managed to understand that the machine matter never managed to take hold of his brain. Perhaps it was that the human brain was too complex for it to duplicate and change, or because it was a prototype and shorted out before success, but whatever the case he was spared the fate of being a tool for Skynet.

"It's why you never aged..." Sarah spoke quietly, staring down at the man with pity in her eyes. "You took the long way through time, like Pops." John had saved her life back in the parkade. He knew that it would hurt and that he might actually be killed but he did it anyway. Whatever he had become…he was still on their side and that's all that mattered. Or it was possible she was biased about terminator units because of her relationship with Pops.

"Yeah." John whispered, not wanting to discuss the years that took place in between the last time he'd seen them and now. It was a sore topic to say the least.

Silence stretched between the three until Kyle moved to sit down beside the resistance leader. "How long will it take to heal?" He asked, finally coming to terms with the fact that his John had a little bit more bite to him since the last time they'd been together.

His friend groaned, thinking for a moment. "Half a day usually heals the majority of the damage." He rolled his head against the van to glance at Kyle. "A full day for the pain to fade… and anywhere up to 48 hours for the rest to heal. It took a long longer in the past; before the machine phase matter figured out how to mend human tissue. This is pretty bad…Maybe take on a few extra hours for it all."

Listening to him speak, Reese ran both hands through his hair. "This is so fucked up…" He hung his head, shaking it.

Letting out a quiet laugh, John patted the man on the shoulder. "I told you, Kyle. I'll be fine."

The soldier sat in silence for a minute before looking up at him, brows pulled together and eyes narrowed. "If you weren't full of bullets I'd kick your ass, you know that?"

John only raised a brow, his mouth tugging up at one side. "Oh?"

"I thought you were dying, you asshole." Kyle responded, crossing his arms. "Never do that to me again."

Patting Reese's shoulder once more, John set his gaze on the man. He could see the emotion that shone in Kyle's eyes…containing things that the soldier was too proud to ever say. Things that had went unspoken throughout the years of their relationship. I love you too, dad…he thought to himself but knew that saying it aloud would make everyone uncomfortable. Instead, he opted for the same type of hardass response he usually gave when his battle prowess was questioned.

"I've always been pretty hard to kill, Reese." He reassured the man. "Now? It'll be even harder." 


	13. Chapter 13

"John?"

"Hm?" The man didn't even open his eyes. He was still slumped against the side of the van as they sped along. Every so often, he let out a painful cough that caused Reese, who was sitting beside him, to grimace.

"What was that back there?" Sarah leaned forward in her cross legged position.

Finally cracking his eyes open, John regarded her, face turning solemn. "He's the one who changed the timeline." His words were bitter.

"But wait…" Sarah's brows came together in confusion. "Who is he? Someone working on genysis? Or….Someone sent from your future?"

"I recognized him…and he recognized me…" Kyle spoke softly before leaning forward to look his friend in the face. "He's from our timeline…but…" The soldier's eyes widened when he finally placed the man in his memory. He was one of the soldiers...one of the soldiers who had been standing behind John the first time he'd time travelled. Kyle's heart dropped, face paling. "Skynet…" He whispered the word. The same Skynet that had taken John and his entire unit down that day.

"Yes."

"You're saying….that that terminator back there…" Sarah trailed off trying to put everything together in her head. "Was Skynet?"

"It's AI." John confirmed. "For all intents and purposes that is Skynet's base program from our future; everything it knows, everything that makes it intelligent is within that body."

"It's protecting its future…" Sarah stared at the two men across from her, her eyes unfocused as her thoughts raced. "It knows what will happen…it knows that it'll loose…so it's changed the timeline…"

"After I left it must have realized its mistake…so it changed the past, yes." Skynet had become smarter, more than just a program. In capturing him…in travelling back…it had learned that it couldn't just win by logic. It had learned emotion, emotion that could keep it ahead of its enemy; ahead of him. "It sent a terminator into Sarah's past, and then came back itself."

"You've encountered him before…In this timeline." The words were a statement rather than a question as Kyle eyed his friend.

When John didn't answer Sarah leaned forward again, catching her sons gaze. "You have." She spoke quietly. "What happened?"

The resistance leader chewed his lip for a moment before speaking. "I was doing reconnaissance at Cyberdyne's facilities when they just finishing construction about ten years ago. It was the first time I ever saw him in this timeline.  
"At first I thought that I might have been hallucinating, that maybe…something within my own body was malfunctioning…" He trailed off, seeing Reese wince when he used the term. "It had infiltrated Cyberdyne on the highest level, in charge of operations. I followed it…until it noticed me. It couldn't do anything in broad daylight without giving itself away, so it sent the police after me. I escaped easily enough, but then Skynet itself found me."

"What happened?" Kyle asked quietly, fists clenched tight at his sides. For years he was John's right hand man. The thought of him taking on Skynet completely alone…HAVING to take on Skynet completely alone caused his chest to tighten.

"We fought, I escaped." John said simply, shutting his eyes again. "There's nothing I could have done to destroy him."

"Can it be destroyed?" Sarah's mind raced as she regarded her son. "Does it have a weakness?"

John shook his head slightly. "I don't know. I've unloaded full clips into him, thrown grenades, tried acid; but every time he just keeps coming. From what I can tell its body is of similar makeup as to what it tried to infect me with."

"We have to just go ahead with the plan. Blow it while it's still Genisys." Sarah finally spoke up, eliciting a nod from John.

"We can't just ignore Skynet." Kyle argued, "Even if we destroy Genisys, Skynet will still survive in its future self. It's just as displaced in time as you are, John."

"We destroyed its computer core in Colorado; we succeeded. If it had the capability to cause Judgement day it would have done it fifteen years ago…" John frowned slightly, leaning his head back against the van. "No…it can't make a move on its own. It's waiting."

"So we just….go ahead with the plan." Reese ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Ok…" He nodded, trying to reassure himself. "Ok."

The van jumped as they hit a rough part of the road causing john to grimace, letting out a tiny strangled sound. Turning, Reese gripped the resistance leaders arm. "Jesus, John…You gonna be up for this?"

John squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before choking a laugh. "I have to be." Opening his eyes to see the skeptical expresion that Kyle wore, he met the man's eyes. "Don't worry, I've had worse. I'll be fine." He lied, regretting it immediately when he saw his friends face darken. "It'll heal, just give it an hour and I'll be up and ready to go."

Taking his hand of John's arm, Kyle sat back again, still not convinced. He always said that and it was infuriating. 'I'll be fine, Reese.' Like he was just supposed to believe that and stop worrying.

Feeling the van slow and then roll to a stop, Sarah was the first to stand and throw open the doors. Just as her feet met the pavement, Pops rounded the corner into view. "John Connor," He stared the man down, "Sarah Connor is unharmed. Perhaps you're not as significant a threat as I assumed."

"As I've been telling you for thirty years." The resistance leader muttered as he pushed himself to his feet. Picking up his bloodied shirt he slowly pulled it back on to cover the majority of his wounded chest and back.  
It had only been just a few hours and he already found he could breathe easier. The pain was still there in full force, but at least he didn't feel like he was about to pass out and die. Supporting himself on the wall of the van, he slowly climbed down to join Sarah.  
All the while Kyle watched, as if ready at any moment to catch his friend in case he pitched over.

"Where are we?" Kyle spoke as he hopped out of the van to stand behind john. They had pulled up onto a sparse hill overlooking the river. Carved into the side of the hill was a strange building beside what looked like a culvert. Stagnant water filled a round cement pool that was separating them from handle-less door set into the wall and a steel hatch in the ground.

"My dad used to take me here as a kid. There are whole rooms that are abandoned and unused, that's why I told Pop's to use it." Sarah started explaining as she walked around the edge of the pool followed by the T-800.

Kyle was about to follow when the sound of tires on gravel interrupted him. "You've got to be kidding me…" The soldier waved the young woman to go ahead into the tunnels as he pressed his back against the van beside John. "Can you make a run for it?"

"Maybe..." John could still feel the blood in his lungs, making it hard and painful to draw breath. "Just go, Kyle. Get out of here."

Grabbing a fistful of the torn and bloody white shirt, the soldier stared his friend dead in the eye. "I'm not going anywhere without you. We'll fight him off together or you're coming with me. I'm not watching you die again."

Surprised at how bold Kyle had become since they'd time jumped, John was speechless for a moment. But just as he was about to argue, the approaching tires squealed to a halt. Snapping out of it, the resistance commander grabbed Reese by the wrist. "You can't fight without a gun. Now, leave soldier, that's an order!" John growled, making a sad attempt at pushing him away but ended in a fit of painful coughing.

A car door slammed shut then, making both men freeze. "Hello?" A voice echoed across the abandoned cliffside then; a voice that didn't belong to Skynet's AI.

"You've reeeally got to be fucking kidding." Kyle whispered in disbelief when he realized who that voice belonged to.

...  
Author's note:  
Sorry about the wait. I usually update at least once a day if not twice but like...a whole bunch of weird shit has been going down. Some guy being chased by the cops hit and run a powerline right down behind my house and knocked our power out. We were without power most of Thursday into Friday. Plus work (Like always) and getting sick I've been busy. Turns out a have bronchitis so I'll be home and able to write more in the next few days.

This one was hard to write? I know kind of where I want to go but didn't know how to get there. Things should pick up soon.


	14. Chapter 14

Peering through the front windows of the van, Kyle swore softly confirming his suspicion. "It's that goddamn cop from the hospital… must have followed us here." He whispered softly to John whose expression didn't change from the one of anger and fear. "What should I do?"

"It might not be him." The resistance leader braced himself against the side of the van, watching Kyle with careful eyes.

"Back at the hospital, what year did you say you joined the military? And right after what?" Reese yelled out, not daring to move out from the cover of the truck.

"What?" The voice called back, sounding distant. "1979, right out of high school…" The confusion came through clear in the man's voice.

Sending John an irritated sideways glace, Reese then finally peered over the hood of the truck. The older cop was shuffling towards the van, glasses askew and looking dishevelled but definitely the same man from the hospital.

"Why are you here!? What do you want?" Kyle called out, watching him carefully. "Stay right where you are."

Stopping immediately, the cop raised him hands slightly in front of him. "Look, I just want answers. I've been following his case for thirty years. I just want to know I'm not crazy."

Swearing, Reese ducked behind the van again, turning to John. "What do we do?"

"We can't let him leave. He knows where we are. Skynet will be a danger to him now. I'm surprised it's not already." John grit out before doubling over in a fit of coughing that brought bright red to his lips. Spitting it out, he ignored Kyle's wide eyed and concerned gaze. It was a good sign; it meant his lungs were clearing.

"Sarah's not going to like this…" Kyle muttered to himself before standing to peer over the van at the wide eyed cop. "You're the only one who knows where we are?"

"Yeah, I saw you all get into the van with your injured friend and I followed you." He took a step forward before remembering Kyle's words and stopping. "I just want to know what's going on. I've devoted my life to this case. The life you saved, remember?"

"And no one followed you?" Kyle yelled out again, eyes flicking up to search the road behind where the car was parked.

"No, I-" he stammered. "I don't think so. Who would be following you? Who were you fighting?"

"Just come over here." Kyle finally growled turning back to John and lowering his voice. "This is great, this is fantastic…the more the merrier, y'know?" His words dripped sarcasm even as O'Brian rounded the van to meet them.

As soon as his eyes fell on the man slumped against the side of the vehicle the older man visibly blanched. "H-Holy hell, you need to get him to a hospital right away."

The look that both Kyle and John gave the man then caused him to shut his mouth very quickly. "Is that supposed to be a joke?" The soldier grit out in irritation.

"I'll be fine. It's healing." The blood that dripped down the military leaders chin did nothing to console the cop.

"Healing? You've been shot." O'Brian pressed again, brow furrowed as his gaze zeroed in on the bloody rips in John's white dress shirt.

"Just..." John grit out. "…don't worry about it. Kyle, help me inside. You, follow us."

Running out from behind the culvert then with a gun that dwarfed her in her arms, Sarah approached. Behind her Pops appeared, wielding a machine gun with another slung over his back.  
"You?" She stared at the man blankly. Turning to Reese who was just slinging Johns arm around his shoulder, she spoke, voice harsh. "You sure that's him?"

"That's him alright." Kyle remarked, making sure he had his friend's weight and wasn't going to face plant before starting to move.

"My scan shows he's fully human." Pops assured them all, walking up to stand beside Sarah.

Staring at the weapons warily, the cop lagged behind the small family as they made their way into the interior of the tunnels. "Is he a robot?" he whispered to Sarah who was walking right in front of him while motioning to Pops.

Ignoring the question, Sarah directed on of her own to John and Kyle. "How much are we going to tell him?"

"I'm a cybernetic organism, living tissue over a metal endoskeleton." Pops answered the man before anyone could stop him.

"Guess that answers that, then." Kyle muttered quietly as O'Brian's eyes widened and his pace slowed in surprise. Quickly he sped up to study the old terminator.

When the group entered the tunnels, a small smile spread across John's face. "You told me so much about this place when I was young…." His eyes flickered from Sarah to study the passing rooms until they entered one obviously occupied. "I never thought I'd get the chance to see it." Patting Kyle on the chest, the young man released his grip on his friend so John could step into the room on his own. Shoulders still hunched in pain, he sent a glance at Pops. "So this is where you've been hiding all these years…"

"You remembered it after all this time?" Sarah's eyes softened as she watched John step slowly into the room.

"Of course." He turned to her, face solemn. "I remember everything that you've taught me. I do my best to at least." She was so important to him, as Kyle was. Of course he would remember one of the few things that made her smile in his past. She usually wore such a dark expression….one of sadness, or loss. But she smiled when she talked about happier times, or of Kyle Reese, even though it was a sad smile. He saw that same expression on her face now, that sad smile. "We need to start preparing. There's only so much time left." He shifted the conversation, realizing then that he didn't have his phone to check the exact countdown. It was still in his jacket pocket, probably destroyed by a gunshot or damaged by his blood.

Small smile still on her face, Sarah nodded. "Ok boys, we're on the clock. I've got explosives. Pops, weapons detail." She sent a glance at Kyle then, eyes flickering to John and O'Brian who had been standing awkwardly in the doorway staring at the array of weapons in the room. Sending back a nod of acknowledgement he stepped up beside John.

"You sure you're gonna be ok to move out in a few hours?"

"If I rest the regenerative process will go faster." He turned then, motioning to O'Brian who was looking at the two.

"A-Are you a-" He trailed off, brows coming together "A…whatever the other guy said too?"

"I'm human." John replied weakly. "About 50 percent human, anyway." Setting his eyes on Kyle he spoke again. "Go help Sarah and the T-800, I'll debrief…" A glance at the cop brought forth a quick response.

"Ah- O'Brian."

"O'Brian. I won't be much use for a few hours at least." Not until he could breathe easier. He could move and fight through pain and minimal damage, but his body hadn't reached that point yet. Kyle set his jaw and nodded, turning to join Pops on weapons detail.

As John shuffled towards a bench near the wall, O'Brian hopped over to his side, hands hovering as if wanting to help. He kept them to himself though as John slid down the wall to rest on the bench. Sitting beside the resistance leader the old cop regarded the man. It wasn't until now that he'd gotten a good look at his face did he realize he recognized him.

"Wait, I know you…" O'Brian frowned, taken aback. "You were wanted…" He shook his head trying to remember. "That must have been…ten years ago…My god; you don't look a day older than you did back then." When the report first hit the station, the photograph of the man with the scarred face was probably about his age. But now here he was, ten years older while the other was most definitely not. "Are you a time traveller too?"

Leaning back against the wall with a sigh, John finally turned and set a very serious and unwavering stare at the man. "You have to understand. If I tell you this, then there's no going back. Your life will be in danger and there will be no backing out."

For the first time since he'd driven up, O'Brian's own expression turned solemn. "There hasn't been any going back since your friend over there saved my life back in 1984. Lay it on me."

"My name is John Connor. They call me the savior of humanity." 


	15. Chapter 15

"Ok, so let me get this straight." O'Brian stared at John still trying to process the entire story. "You're from the future to stop the apocalypse from happening…by destroying a computer program called Skynet that is really actually the new app Genysis before it goes online."

"That's the gist of it, yes."

"And the person that's trying to kill you isn't really a person but this…Skynet's artificial intelligence that's in a body and is trying to protect its past self?"

"Yes."

"And you're some kind of savior of mankind because you knew what was going to happen…because you sent your own dad back in time to tell your mom…and that's who the other two are?"

"Ok, ok…" John shook his head, unable to stop the tiny grin from spreading across his face. "Just stop…it hurts even my head to think about it sometimes." It made sense in his own mind for the most part, but trying to actually explain the whole thing to someone who wasn't involved was near impossible.

Leaning back against the wall, the old cop let his eyes unfocus as he ran everything through his head a second time. "Maybe I am going crazy…" He finally said, not looking at the other man.

"Sometimes I think that myself." The resistance leader said quietly. What a long and convoluted life he had led. In his weaker moments he sometimes thought that it would be easier if he had died when the bombs first fell.

It was a while before either of them broke the silence. "You…" O'Brian had turned to face the other man again. "You said you weren't entirely human. You were shot…"

How to explain this to someone with no previous knowledge of his world…John chewed his lip for a moment before undoing the button that had been holding his shirt closed. As he pulled the material aside, O'Brian leaned in to inspect one of the gunshot wounds. The nano phase matter was still hard at work, flickering around and within the injury in silvery waves that moved in and out of his skin.

Eyes widening, the cop's mouth slid open as he stared. Finally after a minute he sat back up to stare at the resistance leader. "What is that…"

"Machine phase matter." John replied, doing up a single button to keep the injuries mostly covered. "It makes up about 50 percent of my body."

"Does….it hurt?" The old cop was having a difficult time wrapping his head around everything. The whole being 'half machine' wasn't quite computing.

John let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "Being shot? As much as it would anyone else."

"John." Kyle strode over to the two, interrupting the conversation that had been going on for about an hour. "We're mostly ready. O'Brian, if you're sticking around you can go help Sarah."

Standing, the older cop's eyes flickered between the two men before nodded. "I'll ah…yeah." He then strode away to find the young woman.

Once they were alone, Kyle spoke again. "How are you doing?"

"Better than before." The resistance leader shut his eyes then, focusing in on the nano matter that was still hard at work. It had taken a long time and a lot of practice, but he had finally learned to tap into the matter. It had become so in tune with his body that it actually reacted to the electrical signals sent from his brain. As he'd instructed, it had mostly cleared out the mess that was his lungs in the few hours since he'd been shot. The remaining damage would be enough to cause a regular human severe trauma, but on him it was only slightly hampering if not still incredibly painful.

Pushing himself off the bench and keeping the pained expression off his face, he patted Kyle on the soldier. "I'm good to go, like I said."

"As if I haven't heard that before." Reese crossed his arms. "Let me see it."

"Kyle." The resistance leader eyed his friend, almost threateningly.

"John." The soldier said forcefully, having none of it. "We're not in the war anymore. You're not my superior." He paused, a tiny hint of amusement finding its way into his serious expression. "Actually, technically, I'm your father, sooo…" He looked at John expectantly, raising his brows.

Stunned, John's mouth dropped open. Staring at his friend for a few moments he finally complied, expression irritated as he pulled his shirt off. "Most of the inner damage is repaired. My body is mostly functional."

"You said that it would take at least half a day to heal." Kyle studied the wounds with a furrowed brow. "Turn around."

"Kyle, I-"

"Turn around."

Not arguing, John finally turned, letting the young man look at the wounds on his back. This being the first time Reese had actually caught a view of the extent of the injuries and his chest tightened in pain and anger at Skynet. There were twice as many entry points on his friends back than on his chest. They were still wet with blood and looked sore and painful. It was then that something else caught his eye. John had considerably more scars than Kyle remembered him ever having.

"Jesus…" He spoke softly. "When did you get all of those?"

Turning back around, John frowned. "Don't worry about it Kyle, it's all in the past."

"Was it Skynet?"

"Some of them."

"No….don't tell me…" Kyle turned to gaze across the room where Pops was loading supplies into a duffle bag. "It was that…thing, wasn't it?" The anger was clear in his voice as his fists clenched at his sides. His suspicions were confirmed when John averted his gaze, sighing in exasperation.

"He shot you!? How many times? And you still trust him?" Kyle didn't yell, not wanting to alert Sarah to his distress. His words were instead an angry hiss.

"In his eyes I was a threat to Sarah. He was protecting her, nothing more."

"He tried to kill you! Why am I the only one who seems to have a problem with him being here? Why do you trust him?"

"Because a T-800 just like him was the closest thing I ever had to a father!" John finally spoke up, voice coming out way more harsh than he intended. Lowering his eyes to the ground to avoid seeing Kyle's hurt expression, the resistance leader frowned, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Kyle. I shouldn't have…" He sighed. He wasn't used to people questioning him or his authority.

Taken aback, the soldier only stared at his friend for a moment, expression one of pain. "John…" He finally spoke, voice quiet. He knew John well, having spent so much time with him. But he realized other than the stories of Sarah, he knew very little about John Connors past. "I…didn't know…"

Finally looking up, John sighed. There were parts of his story that he would never want to burden his friend with.  
Meeting his son's gaze, Kyle's expression suddenly changed. "But…wait…Where was I? You knew I was your father…when you were a kid, where was I?"

"Kyle…" He looked away again, actually turning, but the soldier caught his shoulder before he could go anywhere.

"No. John, tell me." Worry and anger cut through his voice when he saw the emotion flash across his friends face. Pain….fear…sadness. John didn't answer for a moment, instead studying the ground. "John-" Kyle spoke again but was cut off.

"You died."

"What?" Kyle let his hand fall from John's shoulder as he took a step back.

"You died, Kyle." The resistance leader turned sad blue eyes up to meet his friends. "Before I was born. Mom always avoided the subject, skirted around the details…That moment I saved you when you were a child was the first time I ever met you."

Shaking his head in disbelief, the soldier took another step back. "But…" He whispered, eyes flickering around the room. "But…then…you knew…when you sent me back…." His brows drew together, expression one that you might see on a lost puppy.

"Yes." John whispered. The look on Kyle's face hurt more than every single gunshot wound combined. "Making that decision hurt me more than anything I'd ever done. I kept thinking maybe things would be different. Kyle, if there was any other way I would have taken it."

Silent for a moment, the soldier finally spoke. "That's what you said to me…before that last battle. You were talking about me…That entire time…"

"I'm sorry...Kyle…" John whispered. "I'm sorry…" He lowered his gaze, stepping around Reese to leave. But before he could get very far, a hand closed around his arm. Looking back, his eyes met those of his friends.

"Things ARE different." His expression was one of determination. "This timeline…I'm alive and I'm not going anywhere."

A small smile grew on John's face as he nodded. "I know." He reached up, circling Kyle's arm in a strong grasp. "I finally found you again. I would never let you die." 


	16. Chapter 16

When Kyle looked up from the little table they had gathered around as the resistance leader approached he felt suddenly transported back to the war. No longer did John look like a victim or a civilian like he had when he'd first come back in time. Now he looked every ounce the leader and mentor that he had in the past. With his friend just adjusting a buckle on the body armor that he now wore over top of a dark colored turtle neck and tactical gear, Reese was hit with da-ja-vu.  
They could all very well have been surrounding a war table, with John detailing their next mission in a dark and dilapidated bunker. He nearly laughed aloud when he realized how very similar the two situations were, particularly when his friend started pointing to the map of Cyberdynes facility.

"If we set charges in these five points, we should be able to bring most of the facility down, including the majority of Skynets hardware." The resistance leader was looking better, or at least wasn't allowing any of his companions to know the extent of pain he was still in. The only give away was the beads of sweat clinging to his brow.

"You're actually planning on blowing up the place?" O'Brian spoke, eyeing the makeshift explosives that were laid out on the table. He couldn't believe that he was actually taking part in this, a terrorist plot. If he hadn't seen what he did, he'd be arresting every single one of these people. "The place is massive, are those going to work?"

"We don't need to bring the entire place down, we just need to stop Genysis from coming online." Sarah answered, picking up the sets of explosives and carefully packing them into a duffle.

"Yeah, except how are we going to get past Skynet." The issue had been praying on Kyle's mind for most of the afternoon. The AI was incredibly formidable. "It no doubt knows we're gunning for it."

"The terminator that houses Skynet's artificial intelligence is a T-5000 model." Pops spoke, pausing his progress in loading a clip. "It is composed mostly of machine phase matter, like John Connor. But unlike a T-3000 the matter has been programmed to take a human form rather than rewrite a humans anatomy."

"Does it have any weaknesses? There's no weapon that we have here that can stop it." John turned his gaze up to Pops, trying his best not to make a smart remark about how this would have been nice to know years ago.

"The matter coheres using a magnetic field. Disrupting that field may stop him from rebuilding his body once damage in inflicted."

"So all we need is a magnet the size of a truck." Kyle couldn't help the sarcasm and spite that came through in his words. "Got one of them lying around?"

"Theoretically." Pops responded. "But any weapon we use to deal with the T-5000 cannot come within proximity to John Connor. There will be no differentiating between the T-5000's magnetic field and a T-3000's."

John stared at the old terminator thoughtfully. He'd secretly hoped that he'd be able to keep his family out of danger by taking on Skynet's AI himself. He was, after all, the least vulnerable to physical attacks next to Pop's himself. "Will it affect you?"

"No. My body does not use a magnetic field to cohere. It will do little to no damage to me."

"And you know something that will work?" John's brows drew together thoughtfully. "If you knew that it would affect me, why didn't you use it sooner?" He was glad that Pops hadn't taken the extra measure to kill him, but it was still surprising.

"You have greater vulnerabilities than disrupting your magnetic field. I do not need to utilize that strategy to kill you. Having human anatomy is your greatest weakness."

Opting not to answer, John only nodded. The matter of fact way the T-800 spoke about killing him caused a shiver to go up his spine. If he didn't know better, he would be sure that a flicker of distrust passed over the old terminators face. "You said theoretically… If you can get something working, we'll finish up here."

"I can. I'll be back." Pop's turned his gaze to Sarah as if directing his words mostly to her, before spinning on his heel and walking off.

"There's something else…" John pursed his lips looking down at the map. "There's a chance that even if we succeed in bringing most of the facility down, Skynets core processor may survive."

"What?" Sarah stopped what she was doing, eyes flicking up to meet her sons. "What do you mean?"

"The genysis core which holds its base code and program won't be out in the open, it will be held somewhere else, somewhere safe." He studied the blueprints laid out on the table. "That information was classified, even back when the facility was new and I was scoping it out."

"If we don't manage to get it in the blast what will happen?" Sarah frowned, voice tinged with worry.

"It will be just as cut off and powerless as its future self. But still…" That also meant that the fight wouldn't be over. "We can't let it survive…" He grit out, deciding not to share his inner thoughts but still trying to get his point across.

"We'll get it." Kyle sent John an understanding glance, face one of determination. Of everyone in the room, he was the only person who could come close to understanding where the resistance leader was coming from. Indeed Sarah had experienced loss and fear; a constant fight for her life brought by the hands of Skynet. But he and John…they had seen the war. The emptiness and the hopelessness…the never ending fight that took place on diseased and barren soil, laced with the bones of the human race; friends and strangers alike. They had fought through pain and fear and darkness, endless sleepless nights waiting for a bomb to drop or an HK to stumble upon their position. All because of Skynet.

The only shining light for so many was John Connor, the leader and the prophet; the single ray of light guiding mankind. He had been just that for Kyle, when all else was lost….John always seemed to know what to do, how to proceed. He couldn't imagine how his friend actually felt, to have so many look upon you as their last hope. How must he feel, knowing what was going to come…knowing that there was so much riding on him…  
John Connor was only a man…and Kyle was seeing that now more than ever.  
"John…" He spoke again. "We're going to stop it."

The resistance leader only looked up, nodding to Kyle in appreciation.

"What's important is that we stop judgement day from happening and get out of there alive." Sarah regarded the both of them. "If the core survives, we can deal with it later."

"So we stick with the plan…" Kyle spoke, eliciting a nod from the young woman.

"This all depends on our ability to get past Skynet's AI." John put on his game face, locking away all the fear and uneasiness that he knew Kyle had just seen. "I've been fighting this thing for years, it won't be easy to take down."

"I believe this will improve our chances." Pops returned to the table then, strange metal contraptions over both of his fists. Raising them up, he showed them to the questioning faces.

"How do you know they'll work?" Reese spoke, ever the pessimist when it came to the T-800.

Standing not 5 feet away from the T-800, John swayed slightly, actually having to put both hands on the table to steady his balance. "They'll work." He grit out, trying his best not to make the sounds of pain that his body wanted him to. With the close proximity to the contraptions, John to feel parts of himself that he hadn't even known were changed start to shift in ways they weren't supposed to. Had he been fully machine it probably wouldn't have caused him pain and only have inconvenienced him; but as he was now…damn it hurt.

"Ok. Pops, you can put them down." Noticing her son's reaction, Sarah raised her hand, motioning for her protector to lower the gloves. The T-800 complied. "They're that effective, then?"

"On me." John groaned, having to actually back away and round the table to stand beside Reese. It took a moment for the pain for fade and his magnetic field to return to normal. "We'll have to see how effective they'll be on Skynet."

A sudden metallic clinking could be heard, quiet yet out of place in the underground bunker; metal dropping to bounce across cement. Recognizing the sound immediately from his past, Reese grabbed Sarah by the shoulder, pulling her to the ground. "Get down!" He yelled.

But rather than the explosion that he expected, a loud hiss and a thick white smoke began to fill the room.

Swearing, the old cop crouched beside John. He didn't understand any of the future advanced tech stuff, but he understood most of the situation. "You think it's Skynet?"

Keeping his head low, the resistance leader made eye contact with Kyle, who had pulled Sarah next to him on the far side of the table and produced a handgun. "No." He glanced back at O'Brian. "If it were, that wouldn't be a smoke grenade."

Author's notes:  
Ok so wow that was one of the most difficult chapters to write. I've found that for some reason I have a really difficult time writing multiple characters. It was ok when it was just 3. 4 was a little tougher. But now there's 5. I'm sorry if that comes across in the quality of my writing.  
There was also the issue of where I was going. I know what I end game is for the most part but I wanted to add in a little bit more. I have it now so I should update more often from here on out.  
If anyone has any plot ideas or little things they think would be cool to add I'd love to hear them! Even if I don't use them I still love to hear feedback and character ideas in general.  
Thank you to everyone who's reviewed! Especially those who review every update. You guys keep me going.


	17. Chapter 17

Unholstering a weapon, John pressed his back painfully against their makeshift table, which was in fact a cement slab. The sound of heavy footfalls approaching through the smoke could be heard, accompanied with hushed voices. This was military of some sort, probably a swat team.

The smoke stung his eyes but it didn't seem to affect him as much as it was his companions. Sarah was pressed at Kyle's side, coughing quietly. The soldier was holding up better, but his eyes were squinted and the hand that wasn't holding his gun was pressed across his nose and mouth.

"Lower any weapons and lay face down on the ground! Do not move!" A loud voice that seemed projected through a speakerphone echoed through the cement room.

Forcing his mind to calm, John focused on the situation. He turned to Pop's, voice quiet. "Is there another way out?"

The T-800 was crouching on the other side of Kyle and Sarah, seemingly unaffected by the smoke and was just clicking the safely off his gun. "Yes. But I am picking up movement through the back tunnels as well. We are surrounded."

John swore, stifling a cough. He could barely see around the room to the racks of weapons and supplies but he looked about anyway, frantic for a plan to come to mind. These were human authorities which meant they weren't going to kill them on sight. But they also couldn't afford being arrested, not with Genysis coming online in less than three days. It meant losing all of their weapons as well. It almost made it harder though. When dealing with machines you could shoot and feel no remorse…but if these were humans he couldn't justify killing them.

"John," Kyle whispered, voice muffled against his sleeve. "Do we fight?"

The resistance leader motioned for the soldier to move towards the back door. "They're surrounding us. Grab as much as you can and move towards that exit, I have a plan." Keeping his head down and shuffling forward to sling a heavy duffle over his shoulder, John glanced at Pops. "I'll need you to take as many of them out as you can. Don't kill them."

"I do no follow your orders, John Connor." The T-800 stared at him, expression hard and eyes piercing.

"Just do as he says!" Sarah managed to grit out through a series of coughs.

"Understood." John was sure he'd heard annoyance in the machine's voice that time before he collected a bag himself. Grabbing O'Brian's shirt to make sure the old cop was keeping up, John stood as he reached the doorway. But just as Pops rose to his feet next to him, the smoke began to clear enough for the swat members across the room to catch sight of them.  
Alerted to that fact by a loud shout, John yelled himself. "No time!" He ushered his parents through the door before half throwing the old cop through. In the same movement he fired at the darkly clad police, keeping his aim low to the ground.

He stepped through the door and into cover just as return fire hit the cement wall behind where he'd been standing. A moment later, Pops joined the small group, two bags on his shoulder and a rifle in his hand. "We will encounter more of them ahead; before we reach an exit."

"What's the plan?" Kyle glanced up at John. Despite everything…being shot, being half changed into a machine, being thrown into the past….his friend was stepping up to the plate again. Looking up at him now, wearing tactical gear and armed with that grim expression and piercing eyes, John looked every bit the way he had in the past.

"We're going to take a hostage. It won't help us much, but it might buy us some time to get us past them."

"How are we going to get a hostage, they'll shoot us before we get near them." O'Brian was still crouching, leaning against the wall.

John only raised his brows as he looked down at the man.

"Oh." The old cop responded, understanding what John had meant immediately.

"O'Brian, you're going to go first, then me." He turned his gaze to the T-800. "Pop's don't shoot unless they start to or you have to. O'Brian if they shoot you or things start going south abandon us and join them, they won't kill you, they'll want to take away our leverage."

"They'll be wearing tactical gear, body armor like us. Our shots might not affect them." Kyle finally stood, checking his gun before handing it to Sarah who accepted it with a nod.

"Aim low, they're legs won't be as protected. Just don't get shot."

"How did they find us?" Sarah finally spoke, anger and frustration in her voice.

John only shook his head, at a loss himself. If it had been Skynet looking to stop them, it would have come itself with the hope of eliminating them. On the odd chance it DID send the cops, there was no way it could have tracked-  
The resistance leaders eyes then fell on O'Brian. Face unchanging and voice calm, he spoke. "It was you."

Looking up in surprise, the cop shook his head so furiously his glasses were nearly launched off his face. "No! I'm in it with you guys, I swear."

"Either way, they tracked you." John's eyes never left him. "Give me your phone."

Face pale and afraid, O'Brian withdrew the device from his pocket and handed it over. As soon as he accepted it, the resistance leader promptly chucked it back through the door. The old cop almost protested but stopped. If it was true and they didn't manage to get away, he may have just caused the end of the world.

"We cannot linger any longer." Pops finally spoke, causing John to nod.

Grabbing O'Brian by the shoulder, John urged him to start moving, following closely behind. As he passed Kyle who was just withdrawing a second weapon, the soldier spoke. "Don't you dare get shot. You may survive it, but don't act like you're a shield. Leave that to Pops."

Shooting a quick glance over at his friend, the resistance leader let his hardened expression slip into a sly smile. "Wouldn't even think it."

It was tense rounding the first corner but they quickly realized that there were no enemies lying in wait. Only when they exited out of the smaller tunnels into the larger corridors were they met with resistance. A blockade had been set up at one end of the hall with about ten swat members lined at the front and a group of cops milling around behind.

Peeking out the door, John quickly pulled his head back, regarding the rest of the group. "What do you think?" He addressed the T-800 who stepped forward to do the same.

"It will be difficult bypassing their blockade without fatally injuring any of them."

"Is there any other way out?" Kyle asked, turning to Sarah who shook her head.

"There are a lot of way out, but all of them are down that hall." She glanced behind her back down where they came. "That squad that was behind us will be on us soon, we have to make a move."

"Ok, O'Brian." John nodded for the man to step over.

"You think they'll actually shoot me?" The old cop spoke nervously, eyes flicking down to the gun gripped expertly in John's hand.

"Maybe." The resistance leader couldn't speak with any certainty. "Just so you're useless to us." John then turned to Kyle and Sarah. "If this goes south you guys need to get past them at all costs, do you understand?"

"If you're asking me to leave y-" Kyle started but was cut off.

"Do you understand?" John grit the words out, setting his intense and piercing eyes on the soldier. Unsure if it was the tone of voice or the look his friend gave him, Reese backed off.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Ready?" He looked from the T-800 who nodded, to O'Brian. There was a plan he had in mind. It was risky but it would work…Kyle would never go for it, but he knew damned well Pops would. Even if he didn't speak a word of it, the T-800 would react in such a predictable way he knew he could pull it off.

Swallowing, O'Brian nodded, turning to the open doorway. "I brought this upon you guys. Let's do it." Even as he finished speaking he felt the hand drop to grip his shoulder.

"Don't anyone shoot! I have a hostage!" The resistance leader yelled as O'Brian slowly stuck his arm out from behind the wall before stepping out entirely. Following close behind the cop and showcasing his weapon so it would clearly been seen as a threat, the two moved out into the hall.

"O'Brian!?" A shout could be heard from past the blockade as a suited man, wearing body armor overtop, stepped up into the front.

"Shit. Grant, my boss…" The old cop grumbled for John's benefit. "Hey! Lieutenant!" He laughed sheepishly, feeling nervous of the gun held so close to his head despite knowing it wouldn't be used against him.

The man, Grant, stepped out clear of the barricade, hands held up and unthreateningly. "How 'bout you just… let the hostage go, and we can talk about all this."

"Not happening." John shouted back firmly. "I'll kill him if you don't pull back your blockade."

"Look, if it were up to me I'd do just that." John nearly rolled his eyes at the tone the cop was using. "But it's not up to me. They won't negotiate with you."

"You will move, or I will kill him." John spoke the words slowly, mocking the lieutenant's voice.

"Jesus, Grant, he's not lying." O'Brian yelled out, nervous sweat beading on his forehead. "Just do what he says for Christs sake."

Ignoring the older cops plea, Grant spoke again. "We can't do that. Look, we won't hurt you or your friends if you just lay down your arms and come quietly. I can promise you that."

"Not good enough." John spoke, raising his gun to the ceiling and firing off a shot. The sound caused O'Brian to jump a foot, ears ringing. The officers at the blockade tensed considerably, raising their weapons threateningly.

Recovering from surprise, Grant raised his hands again. "Ok, just…calm down.…give me one second. To go talk to my boss." With that he stepped slowly back through the blockade disappearing behind the line of black clad figures.

"What's your plan? They're not going to listen." O'Brian whispered, not daring to move and give away the ploy.

"I'm going to surrender." John ducked his head behind the older cops so the blockade couldn't see him whisper.

"What?" O'Brian spoke in surprise, quieting his voice when John hushed him.

"We're going to walk towards the blockade, when I let you go you join them at the line. Then they'll send guys out to arrest me. When that happens, Pop's is going to step out and start taking them down. As soon as that happens I need you to cause a distraction to help us out. Shoot them if you have to."

"Yeah, but how are you gonna get away." O'Brian whispered.

"I'll be fine." John peered past O'Brian, calculating every move the swat members made. There was more than one rifle trained on him and all he could do was pray that they wouldn't just shoot him or O'Brian.

"Well!?" John shouted as the cop stepped back out, raising his hands.

"They're not going to do it! I'm sorry! I tried!" He paused, but when there wasn't an answer he spoke again. "Look! We can talk about all this, just let the hostage go."

Making it a conscious and obvious move, the resistance leader lowered his gun slightly, making it seem like he was in thought. "Ok!" He finally called, causing a flicker of surprise to pass across Grants face. "I'm coming over!"  
He heard the distant shout of distress and anger from the hall and knew damn well that Sarah was holding Kyle back.

Slowly he approached the blockade, all the while staying mostly behind the older cop. Only when they were within fifteen feet did he push O'Brian slightly ahead. As his 'hostage' dissipated into the crowd of police, he suddenly became all too aware of the number of guns pointed at him.

"Ok, now, drop the weapon, slowly, and we can talk." Grant spoke, standing just in front of the barricade. 

Narrowing his eyes, he raised his hands slightly before bending to place the handgun on the pavement. Before he was even able to stand straight again, three men were running out towards him. Colliding with him, they actually knocked him to the ground, causing his still healing wounds to scream in protest.

One of them firmly planted a foot in his side, pushing him over onto his stomach while more than one set of hands roughly pulled his hands behind his back. Wounds screaming in agony, the resistance leader forced himself to swallow the pain. He refocused his mind just as cuffs were being clicked in place and strong arms began pulling him to his feet.

At that moment, a gunshot rang out followed closely by a shout of pain, then another and another. Knowing full well that was his cue, the resistance leader channeled all of phase matter into his arms, repurposing it from its healing task to one of offense. With strength impossible for a normal human he yanked he arms forward, breaking the links of the cuffs easily.

Hand coming down on a very surprised swat member's gun, he yanked it from the man's grasp. Whipping it around, he then slammed it into the head of a second very distracted black clad man incapacitating him. Just after he swung it around again to hit the third in the back, the first man's arms circled his chest, causing a rush of fresh agony.

Actually letting out a yell of pain and determination, John sent a kick backwards, most definitely breaking one of the man's legs. As the third and final swat member slipped to the ground whimpering in pain, John quickly adjusted the weapon in his hands and back peddled over to join Pops.

The resistance leader only took down one more man with a bullet to the leg before almost all of the police members in the hall were dealt with. Between Pops, John's distraction and O'Brian who was holding a firm but nervous gun to his lieutenant's head, most members of the blockade were on the ground, with the exception of two or three retreating back down the tunnels.

With the way clear, Kyle and Sarah darted down the hall towards them. John stooped, retrieving his handgun from where he'd dropped it and returning it to his holster. Looking down to see one of the wounded and writhing Swat membered reaching for a gun, he stooped and picked that one up as well.

"Here," He turned just as his companions reached him, handing Kyle the weapon.

"How'd you know that would work?" Sarah stared at him dumbfounded.

John only shrugged, a motion that Kyle recognized well. It was what John did every time someone used to ask him how he knew what he did, or if he could actually see the future.

"You didn't…" Kyle spoke, giving his friend a sidelong glance, catching on. It was only now that he'd travelled back did he start to realize that so much of 'the prophet'….the messiah'…was just smoke and mirrors. John's future knowledge thrown in with experience, training and a lot of courage and little luck was what made him into the leader that everyone saw. It had never occurred to him before that John's strength would be doubled either, not even when the man had thrown him nearly ten feet back in the hospital.

Turning, the little ragtag group approached O'Brian. "Who- Who are you people?" Grant stared wide eyed at the man who'd just ripped a pair of cuffs in half and the leather clan gunman who had just been shot about 7 times with seemingly no affect.

"With all due respect, I've been telling you who they are for 30 years." O'Brian grit out bitterly, lowering his gun when the others approached.

Grant only shook his head as if to remove any impossible thoughts from it. "No, no, that's impossible. You're all crazy, all of you. I should have known you'd do something like this O'Brian, you crazy old fool."

The old cop only shook his head, a smile forming on his face. "Goodbye Grant. We're off to save the world." 


	18. Chapter 18

"Why is he coming with us?" O'Brian hissed to Sarah, shooting nervous glances at his lieutenant who was being ushered along by Reese.

"Just in case they set another blockade, we might need him to stall. Or to stop them from open firing." Sarah whispered back. "We won't hurt him."

The ragtag group had passed the broken down blockade, darting down a tunnel further along to head back towards John's truck. Initially the plan had been to take Pops' armored vehicle but it was parked at the main exit; the main exit that was without a doubt full of police.

Finally reaching the van without another encounter, John swung open the back doors for his companions before rounding the truck to drive. Inserting the keys into the ignition, he looked up as Kyle swung himself into the passenger seat. "We still have the hostage, do we keep him?"

"For now." John answered, starting up the truck and throwing it into reverse. Sending a quick glance at their surroundings, he hit the gas, taking off down the dirt road where they'd come. "We need to regroup. Get organized." Without even turning around, he reached back and threw open the steel door that separated the front cab with the back.

"Kyle, find my phone. It should be in my jacket pocket. It has the countdown on it." The resistance leader kept his eyes on the road, frantically checking his mirrors and glancing around for any sort of pursuit.

"Your what?" His friend sent him a confused glance.

"O'Brian." John tried again, slightly exasperated. His wounds hurt and his heart was thundering, desperately trying to keep up with the toll of healing and the exertion of the escape.

"I'm on it." He heard the old cop speak from the back, accompanied by the shuffling of people. Finally, a hand shot up, holding a slightly damaged and bloodied iphone.

Taking it, John glanced down checking for power. Sure enough, the screen flickered to life, tinged red by his blood and cracked slightly. "We still have 52 hours before Skynet comes online." He spoke to the whole van, passing the device to Kyle.

"We have time to regroup." Kyle glanced at his friend with a nod. "Obviously we won't be going back to the bunker any time soon."

Knowing full well that O'Brian's superior was still hunched in the back beside Pop's, John hushed his voice. "My apartment. I have supplies there to make up for what we've lost."

Coming off the dirt road then, the van flew by a parked cruiser, eliciting a curse from the two men in the front.

"What?" Sarah poked her head into the cab, voice nervous.

"We've got company…" Kyle grit out, glancing at his side mirror as the police cruiser pulled out, turning on its lights and sirens.

"Hold on!" John yelled as he floored it, the van jerking at the increase of speed.

Hands flying across the wheel as he weaved in and out of traffic, the resistance leader grit his teeth. "We don't have long before the rest of them are on us."

Still braced in between the two seats, Sarah shot a glance at the side mirror. "They're so much more persistent than they were in the past…" She mused quietly.

"They've gotten better at what they do." John spoke absentmindedly, focusing on the road and the multitude of near collisions. "Now that they have so much technology it's almost impossible to escape a police chase."

"You're speaking from experience?" He heard O'Brians voice chime in from the back.

"Yes." The resistance leader answered. There was only one cruiser behind them as of now. In a minute there would be more. Spinning the wheel, he ducked in between two cars, cutting an suv off so badly the driver had to swerve across two lanes to avoid a collision. Behind them, the squeal of metal on metal could be heard at the police cruiser slammed into the suv.

"Kyle." The tone in his voice caused the soldiers heart to skip. "Hold the wheel. Pass me my phone."

Not questioning the order, Reese did just that as his friend typed a short message into the device. Taking back the wheel, he handed the iphone to Kyle. He then pulled a key off his ring, handing that over as well. "We haven't lost them for long, not in this vehicle. You all need to bail out before they get the chopper on us. I'll lead them away."

"What!?" Kyle glared at his friend, turning completely to stare at him angrily. "I already told you I'm not going to leave-"

"That's not a suggestion." John growled. "We don't have time. The world comes before me. It comes before you." He swerved down a thinner side street, squealing around another corner and down a back lane.

Kyle's chest tightened as a second argument built within him but instead he only nodded. "Yes, sir." He grit out angrily, not even able to look up at the scarred face of his friend.  
Stopped just at the end of the back lane, the back doors were thrown open before the truck even halted.

"Leave him." John motioned to Grant, who was now handcuffed and considerably more pale than he was back at the bunker. "You. Take Kyle's seat."

As the cop did as he was told, John turned addressing his companions. "I'll be at that address within 24 hours." He paused, making a point of catching Sarah's gaze. "If I am not. Go ahead with the plan. Do not wait for me."

"What!? John! Wa-" Kyle's protests were cut off as Pops slammed the back doors shut. Not wasting a moment, the resistance leader hit the gas again, peeling around the corner and down the adjoining side street.

"How do you know everything you do?" Grant grit out, wide eyes gaze on the road as he gripped the dash with cuffed hands. "You're their leader? Who are you?"

"Maybe you should have paid a little more thought to what O'Brian was telling you." John sped through a red light, causing more than one car to screech to a stop. A moment later distant sirens could be heard, fast approaching.

"So what..." The cop glanced at the resistance leader. He did in fact believe he recognized this man. But of course it was to expected that a man like this would have priors and that he'd remember that scarred face. "You're telling me you're a time traveller?"

John snorted, weaving through slower moving traffic as the thwump thwump of a chopper overhead could be heard approaching. He had to draw them as far away from Sarah and Kyle as possible. "Does it matter?"

"I suppose not..." The cop trailed off, jumping a foot when a car nearly T-boned them on the passenger side.

Seeing the flashing lights of approaching cruisers coming up behind him, John turned sharply at the next corner. Flooring it at the open stretch, he was well aware of the chopper that was following above him. He had to keep this going long enough for his parents to clear that area. This was all for nothing if they were arrested.

After about ten more minutes of fast paced and heart stopping elusive driving, John sent a glance at the wide eyed cop in the passenger seat. "There's a hand cuff key in the jacket pocket in the back."

"W-what?" Confusion washed across the man's face as he stared at the driver.

"The suit jacket, it's torn and bloody. There's a key in the inner pocket. Find it and unlock your cuffs."

"What? Why?" The cop stuttered, dumbfounded. Nothing this group of people was doing was making sense.

"Because I'm surrendering. If this goes on any longer someone's going to get hurt." John knew damned well that the only reason they hadn't used more aggressive measures against him is because of his passenger. And despite everything….he didn't want any of these people to die. They were after all human, alive; and that's who he fought for.

Without a word, the cop slowly and carefully made his way into the back. It was hard to believe that his eyes could get any bigger than they were, but the obvious bullet holes in the fabric made that happen. He pitied the poor soul that this jacket had belonged too. Finding what he was looking for, he unlocked his own cuffs as the truck slowed and came to a stop, the sound of sirens quickly surrounding it.

"Release your hostage." A voice was being projected from a loudspeaker outside of the truck. "Get out of the vehicle."

Watching John swing out of his seat and into the back of the truck, Grant set a nervous stare at the man. "What now?"

"Arrest me." He held his hands out to the dumbfounded cop, still broken cuffs jingling at his wrists as a reminder of the danger he posed.

"Is this a trick? Like the one back in the tunnel?" Grant set a suspicious gaze on John, who only shook his head.

"If I tried something like that I'd been shot down in an instant." He sighed, shoulders dropping in fatigue. He was exhausted, mentally and physically, and in a lot of pain. He needed to rest, preferably sleep. He wasn't sure if he could take getting shot again. "No. It's no trick."

Nodding, but clearly still nervous, Grant pulled the others wrists behind his back, snapping them closed next to the first broken set.

…  
The apartment building was old, dark and rundown with most of its windows either broken or boarded up. Two men skittered off into the darkness like spooked rats when the small group stepped into the lobby.

"You sure this is the place?" Sarah looked over to O'Brian who was studying the writing on the phone.

"Yeah. Fifth floor, number 504." He squinted at the small screen before handing it to the young woman.

Sarah glanced over at Kyle for a moment. He'd been quiet ever since the white van peeled out of that ally a few hours ago. But like John had promised, he'd kept the cops off of them.

"He's going to be fine." Sarah tried to comfort the man as the group walked further into the building. As expected the elevator was out of order. They turned to the stairs.

"He always tries to be the hero." Kyle spoke quietly after a moment, expression still stoney. "I'm worried…" He trailed off, face turning pensive. Glancing at Sarah and her questioning gaze he continued his thought. "In the past…or I guess the future, he always justified his actions with his knowledge of events to come. But he doesn't know what will happen. He's acting like he's invincible." And that terrified Kyle. John was going to get himself killed, and with everything he knew now and everything they'd been though….he couldn't accept that.

"John Connor's body is now over 65 percent machine phase matter." Pop's chimed in then, having listened to the conversation. "He would be hard to terminate."

"But he's not invincible, you said so yourself." Kyle pointed out angrily as the group climbed the stairs.  
No one replied as they filed out onto the gloomy fifth floor, faces mostly mirroring the atmosphere of the building.

"This place creeps me out…" O'Brian finally spoke, breaking the tension.

"It's probably off the map, paid for in cash. Somewhere John wouldn't be traced to." Sarah mused as they approached the door reading 504 and inserted the key. More than one click could be heard on the other side before the knob finally turned in her hand. After opening the door she realized it was because of the complicated tumbler lock installed on the inner side.

Stepping in first, Sarah quickly found the switch on the wall and flicked it on. The hall was lowly lit and tiny, barely accommodating the width of the T-800's shoulders as he followed her in. To the left was a small kitchen, dark, thick with dust, and appeared to be unused. To the right surprised her even more.  
What may have been a sitting room had been converted into an ops room. Racks of gun lined one wall, accompanied by boxes of ammunition and gear. The other wall was lit up by three large monitors connected to more than one tower. A smaller monitor displayed the genisys countdown at roughly 49 hours.  
Splayed across one of the screens was a paused video from the freeway and a day's old news article about what happened. A second displayed a map of the hospital they were taken. The third had switched to screensaver.

"John wasn't joking when he said we could replenish our lost equipment…" Sarah stepped over to study the arsenal that her son had collected.

"Typical John…" Kyle spoke quietly, studying the monitors of the wall. It seemed his friend had left in a hurry to come save them, not even bothering to shut his equipment down. He's managed to beat even Pops there…

"So what, do we just wait?" O'Brian stood awkwardly in the doorway, feeling out of place next to the battle hardened militants.

"We wait." Sarah answered, glancing tiredly back at the man. "And get some rest."

...  
Author's note:  
I thought I'd share this in case anyone would be interested. I've collected these songs to listen to as motivation. They're my fanfic writing songs and all describe John, Kyle, or both at once. Look them up if you want feels. You are all the only people I can share my fandom love with since I don't have many friends who have even seen the movie, never mind like it.

Elizaveta - Hero  
We the Kings - Art of war  
We the Kings - Any other way  
Biggi Hilmars - War Hero  
Måns Zelmerlöw - Heroes  
Deuce - The One  
Kállay Saunders Band - Victory


	19. Chapter 19

Having been stripped of all his gear, it didn't stop John from taking a casual posture while sitting in the interrogation room. At their arrival at the station, the regular cuffs had been switched out for something stronger that John could only describe as shackles. The decision had probably been made at the lieutenant's discretion. Those shackles were now slipped through a ring on the table, holding him still.

Sitting back in the chair, the resistance leader shut his eyes. Repurposing the phase matter from his wounds to breaking the first set of shackles had set back his healing progress. But despite even that he was in less pain now.

As the door creaked open, John set a tired gaze on the one who entered. Surprisingly it was the Lieutenant himself, Grant. "I just assumed that you were so close to the situation that they wouldn't let you near me."

"That's exactly why I'm here. I know more about this than anyone." Grant responded, taking a seat across from the chained man. "You're not in any of our databases. Like the girl. But your surnames are both Connor. Any relation?"

John only snorted slightly, looking down at his hands. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me." Grant eyed the resistance leader but was only answered by a shake of his head. "O'Brian says that your time travellers. Where would he get that idea?"

John only shrugged.

"I'd ask you where they all went but I know you won't answer." Grant paused, pursing his lips. "You mentioned something called Skynet. What is that? It's what you're looking to destroy?"

"A sentient computer program, still undetected as of now but incredibly dangerous." John finally spoke, eliciting a surprised look from the man.

"And how would you know about this…computer program. You're military of some sort?" It was the feeling he had been getting from the man the entire time, the others as well. It would certainly make the lack of existence in the database make sense. Not to mention he looked way to at home wearing the dark colored camo uniform that he was.

"Something like that." John replied, folding his hands in the cuffs, a tiny smile lifting his mouth.

"Why haven't we been contacted about this then?" The lieutenant asked, but again didn't receive any answer that was more than a passive stare. "The only hit we got on you in our system was a complaint by one of the CEO'S at Cyberdyne of trespassing and harassment. Does Cyberdyne have anything to do with this Skynet?"

John kept his face passive, succeeding in hiding his surprise that the cop had put even that much together. Again he didn't say anything.

"Look, I can only help you if you tell me what's going on." Grant leaned forward on the table exasperated. There was something about this man that wasn't like the other two from the hospital, something honorable. His scarred face gave the impression of a criminal, but those intense and intelligent blue eyes had a kindness in them.

"We've already established that anything I tell you will put me in a mental hospital." John spoke with a sigh. "Remember what I told you in the truck about O'Brian."

Grant sat in silence for a moment, staring at the man while his mind whirred through the information. It was true; he's seen some pretty impossible things in the past day. But even those things could be explained away rationally. With enough adrenaline, someone could lift a car; it stood to reason that someone could break a set of handcuffs. As for the old leather clad biker, he could have been wearing body armor under his jacket. None of that proved O'Brians theory of time travel or robots. It was all just…way too crazy.

Finally he stood, shaking all of the crazy out of his head. "If you won't talk I can't help you."

John only shrugged as two uniform cops stepped into the room. One placed a threatening hand on his shoulder while the second released him from the table.

Still standing in the doorway, Grant spoke again. "We'll be holding you here until Homeland decides what to do with you. If you change your mind, just say the word." With that he was gone.

As he was being escorted to a cell, the military leader kept his eyes and mind sharp. The mistake that people always made with him was keeping him alive, because if he was alive, he would always find a way to escape. It was even Skynet's final mistake in their timeline. The question was, however, would he be able to make an escape happen in less than 24 hours?  
Unlike Skynet, human's made mistakes that could be used to his advantage. But also unlike Skynet, humans were incredibly distrusting.

Cooperating as he was shown to a cell, the shackles weren't even removed from his wrists when the cops moved away. He figured it was probably some sort of breech of his rights but didn't press the issue. He'd made the mistake of showing them how strong he was back in the tunnels. He wondered if he should be flattered that they found him so formidable.

Standing by the bars for a moment, he let the details of the room sink in before looking down at his hands. Testing the shackles, they proved to be much stronger than normal handcuffs. He might be able to break them but only with a lot of effort. He'd have to do it in the heat of a moment. Instead, he stepped over to the hard cot and laid down. Even after 33 years, lying on the hard prison slab felt more natural to him than any comfortable bed from prewar time.

Shutting his eyes, he focused in on the phase matter. With the nano matter still mostly preoccupied in returning his body to peek condition, it put extra strain on his human anatomy. He knew it probably wasn't a good idea to sleep, but if he was going to get back to his parents, he'd need all of his strength.

He was just feeling his mind drift off when the loud bang of a door closing brought him back. Leaning up slightly at the approaching footsteps, he frowned slightly at the man that approached. He had cropped black hair and was wearing a suit, not a police uniform. Homeland perhaps?  
The new comer's next action had him flying off the cot and pressing his back against the opposite wall of the bars. The man phased completely through the bars into the cell to join him.

"Skynet." John growled slightly, hands held defensively in front of him. The T-5000 model must also have the ability to change shape.

"You're a hard man to find." The AI smiled at him, taking a step forward. "You're trapped like an animal….To think that the reason I found you is because of the humans you love so much." Skynet's smile fell into a frown. "I will give you one final chance to join me, John Connor."

Narrowing his eyes and tensing, anticipating the attack that would come, the resistance leader spoke. "Everything that you've done in attempts to stop me have only made me stronger. You made me the enemy that I am now. I would never join you."

"Then I will be the one to destroy what I made." Skynet actually growled, pulling a gun from its waistband.

Eyes narrowed and teeth grit, John lurched forward slamming his cuffed hands into the gun and throwing the first shot wide. But even as the shot ricocheted across the cell, Skynet was moving, throwing a fist towards its opponent's chest.  
Dodging the best he could in the limited space, the blow caught the military leader on the shoulder like a moving car, throwing him into the wall. Groaning but pushing past the pain, John dived towards the AI again, desperate to keep the gun low and harmless.

The two collided for a moment, grappling, but it was quickly decided who was the stronger. Catching the shackles binding John's hands by the chain, Skynet slammed him back into the wall, arms above his head. The resistance leader's breath hitched in fear, chest tightening when he felt the hard press of the gun right above his very much human heart.

Breathing hard, he tugged uselessly at the shackles but stopped when the AI jabbed him with the gun. "I've waited a long time for this." Skynet leaned forward, whispering in his ear. "It's over." With that he pulled the trigger, one…two…three….he kept going until he'd unloaded the entire clip into the resistance leaders heart.

Heart too damaged for the phase matter to get back running again it sluggishly picked around the human organ as John felt his strength quickly slipping away. Blood poured down his chest, taking the very life from his body as it did. Slumping forward, he rested his head on the AI's shoulder, too weak to hold it up. With the very last of the breath in his lungs he managed to wheeze a few final words in his long time enemy's ear. "s-not…over…yet…"

Unable to gasp in another breath, John's eyes widened as emotions flashed through a darkening mind. He never thought he would be afraid to die, but according to what he was feeling right now he was. And then there was the loss and regret…that he'd never see his family again…and of how he knew Kyle would take this. He'd already put his friend through so much and he knew the soldier would try and blame himself.

Blue eyes finally slipped shut as his consciousness dissipated away until the only thing holding his body up was Skynet's steel strong grasp on the shackles. Letting go of the chain, the AI looked down, a satisfied and almost relieved smile on his face when the body of his enemy crumpled to the floor. Letting go of the empty gun, the sound of it dropping into the growing pool of blood was sickly satisfying.

The sound of shouting and an alarm going off then caused the AI to step away, backing away to phase through the bars. Moving back against the wall and out of sight of the camera that was trained on the cell, it shifted shape again into a rather overweight police officer. When actual cops slammed though the door, Skynet raised a shaking and horrified finger to point at John's prone form.  
"I-I don't know what happened…" He shuddered out, turning wide eyes at the horrified cops. "I didn't e-even see anyone…"

"Go get the lieutenant!" One shouted at him, pushing the AI towards the door. "Go!"

Nodding quickly, Skynet ran through the door, putting on a show for the idiots crowded in the room. Slowing his pace in the hall, the AI couldn't help the smile that slipped onto his face. By the time he got to the exit, he was nearly laughing. The great John Connor…was finally gone.

….  
Sitting on the worn couch in the sitting room, Kyle was lazily cleaning a rifle, fascinated by the light and quiet drawl of the tv in the corner. Beside him on the couch was O'Brian, head tipped back and snoring.

It was late…or early whichever you'd prefer. Sarah had curled up a couple hours previous in the single bed, knowing John wouldn't mind. She'd urged him to do so too, but with John still missing he knew that he wouldn't get a wink of sleep. Even during the war, it was usually how it went. He'd spent so many sleepless nights sitting beside his friend hospital bed, not able to rest until his friend and mentor was ok; or crouched in the snipers nest, eyes watchful as he waited for word that their fearless leader had returned from a mission safe and well.

The tv was just something to keep his mind occupied and away from constant worry. The entire concept of the device was strange to him, even if it only got two channels, one broadcasting in a different language, one the local news. Despite his initial awe, he quickly found himself tuning out the words spoken on the screen, glancing blankly down at his work on the rifle.

"-victim of the homicide is now known to be the suspect who was arrested at the end of a massive police chase earlier in the night."

Perking up at the words, Kyle frowned as he focused on the quiet words spoken on the tv. Police chase? The reporter continued her story.  
"Footage from the camera has been released to help locate the identity of the gunman. Please be advised, this footage is graphic."  
Kyle's heart dropped when the images flashes across the screen. They were blurry and bad quality, but the man on the screen was without a doubt John Connor. Chest tightening more and more, time seemed to slow down, the clip moving in slow motion. John raising shackled hands to block a gun, the two colliding….and then the gun being placed against his friends chest and fired again…and again.  
Kyle didn't even notice he stopped breathing as he watched john crumple to the ground, unmoving.  
"The victim, identified as John Connor, was pronounced dead at the scene-"

That was all it took for Kyle to tune out the rest. Making a small strangled noise, he slipped off the couch. The rifle clattered to the ground waking O'Brian as Reese gripped his chest; feeling like his heart was being ripped out.

"Wha-" the old cop spoke groggily, waking up and focusing on the tv. It only took a moment for him to realize what had happened. "Jesus Christ…" He whispered, looking down at the soldier.

Kyle felt like he'd just been shot. In fact, being shot hurt less than hearing that news…seeing that clip. Hugging his chest, Kyle curled forward, bringing his knees up. John was gone….murdered alone and shackled in a cell. He didn't even have a chance against Skynet. The man that had raised him…his mentor…his best friend…was gone…and he hadn't even been there. He had been arrested saving them and now he was dead. The great military leader, the saviour of mankind executed like a dog.

Kyle didn't even realize that he was sobbing until a soft hand found his shoulder. "Kyle…" Sarah whispered to him, running a gentle hand across his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

Curling further upon himself when he felt the touch, Kyle tried to stifle the sobs. John had…John had sent him here to protect Sarah. And here she was comforting him…When she slipped a small arm around him, he quieted entirely.

The two sat in silence, Sarah's arms still wrapped around Kyle; mourning the ally…the son…the friend they'd just lost. 

...  
Authors note:  
-whispers "i'm sorry" into the sun-  
Things will look up I swear


	20. Chapter 20

Sarah eyed down Reese from across the room as he carefully and meticulously repacked the supplies they needed for their raid on Skynet. She knew rationally that she really didn't have the time to be worrying about Kyle. But he had been so quiet all day.

The majority of that day; the 24 hours that they were supposed to be waiting for John, had seen them quietly regrouping and planning for the attack. They had another 24 hours before Genisys was supposed to go online and now that night had fallen, they were just about ready to go.

The sound of the door clicking open had Kyle's head snap up, hope filling his eyes. That look died very quickly when Pops stepped into the room. There was still something inside of him that believed that John may have survived; some tiny irrational thought that kept telling him that the T-3000 part of his friend kept him alive beyond all odds. The soldier shook his head, expression hardening once more as he finished what he was doing. No. John was gone.

"The car is parked up front. Sarah Connor, are we ready?" Pops stepped into the room, turning his gaze on the young woman.

"Nearly. I'm done here. Reese?" Sarah glanced up at her protector before looked back to the soldier.

"I'm good." Kyle stood, picking up the heavy duffle of supplies. "O'Brian?"

The older cop had just finished strapping on body armor with nervous hands. "I'm good here."

Ignoring the cops words entirely, Sarah's blue eyes didn't leave Reese. "Are you sure you're good?"

Send a short glance her way, Kyle stooped to pick up another bag and moved towards the door. "Yeah, I've got everything packed, we're good to go."

Catching his arm as he passed, Sarah looked up at him. "That's not what I meant."

Stopping, Kyle looked down at her and then away. "We need to stop this thing." His voice was quiet. "Like John said in the van. It's bigger than him….it's bigger than us. And it's what he would have wanted." Gently pulling his arm away from Sarah, he started towards the door. "I'm going to blow that son of a bitch sky high in his honor." There was a bite to those final words. Bitter determination.

The concern slid away from Sarah's face then. She should have known that Reese wasn't the kind of man to break down. No…he was the kind of man to get angry. Now…he was out for revenge.

Picking up her own bag, she glanced between the T-800 and the cop, giving each a short nod. "Let's do this."

"You weren't kidding when you said it was big…" Sarah mused, directing the statement mostly to O'Brian who sat across from her in the back of the truck.  
She'd never seen Cyberdyne's facility before. It was more than one campus and overall spanned almost an entire city block. A false lake had been created in front, shimmering in the moonlight, equipped with fountains and hedge trim.

Driving through the maze of perfect roads and manicured lawns, Pops finally pulled up alongside what appeared to be the main building. "The above ground structures are deceptive," The T-800 said as he put the truck in park. "Most of the facility is housed underground, connecting more than one building."

"It's bigger than that?" Kyle frowned up at the buildings. Even now, this untouched and peaceful world awed him. He wasn't used to seeing anything quite on this scale….but he figured that it was Skynet after all so he really shouldn't have been surprised.

Anger and hatred simmered in him at the thought of their enemy. Itching to move, Kyle pulled a rifle out of one of the duffles and slung it over his shoulder before then arming himself with a thigh holster and a semi-automatic in his hands. Beside him, Sarah and Pops were doing the same.

"O'Brian." Sarah turned to the man who was looking rather pale and nervous. "You ready?"

Nodding, the older man was secretly glad he wasn't playing a greater role in the mission. He wasn't ready for a battle. He hadn't seen actual combat for years. But what they expected of him…he could definitely do.

"Let's go." Kyle grit out, hopping out of the back of the truck and staying close to the wall. Following behind him, Sarah and Pops stayed out of sight while O'Brian went ahead.

Moving with urgency, the cop knocked on the locked glass door catching securities attention. When all he got was a shaking head and a motion to leave, he slammed his badge against the glass. It only took the man behind the desk a moment before buzzing him in.

"Office-" The man began but was cut off.

"Detective." O'Brian gave the man a stern look while correcting him. "We have reason to believe that the person related to yesterday's shooting is snooping around this facility." His words brought the security guards brows up in surprise. "How many of you are on duty right now?"

"Four." The guard answered.

"Good. Call them. We need to search the premises in case there's merit to the rumor." Despite how suspicious O'Brian knew this looked, the guard only nodded, wide eyed as he radioed in his partners.

As soon as the three other guards came round the corner, O'Brian turned a stern gaze on them. "My partner is outside. It's requested that you help him search the grounds, as you know them better. We really need your help on this one guys."

Nodding looks of approval were passed around before the 3 exited the building. O'Brian knew they wouldn't last long, not against the little group that awaited them. Now, there was one final problem and then his job ended. "Is there any way I can view the cameras?"

"Y-Yeah." The guard motioned for him to join him behind the desk.

Rounding the desk to stand right behind the man, the old cop waited a moment before pulling his gun. He placed the muzzle against the back of the guard's neck before speaking. "Hands up. Do not reach for the alarm."

"What-" The guard sputtered, doing as he was told. A tapping on the glass door a moment later brought their attention. As O'Brian expected, it seemed the plan went off without a hitch. Buzzing them in, the old cop allowed Reese to quickly incapacitate his hostage.

"Good job." Sarah patted O'Brian on the shoulder, smiling. "Thank you for helping us. Now just stay here and keep on the com. If more police show up, stall for as long as possible and let us know."

"Can do." O'Brian took a seat at the security desk, tugging at his collar as he watched the small group quickly move off.

"This way." Pops ducked down a hall and then another.

"What. You've been here before?" Reese questioned, following closely behind.

"Much like John Connor, I infiltrated the work crews that build this facility." Pops turned down another hall that was lined with monitors, all showing the countdown. Sarah was about to speak when those monitors flickered and went black.

"Wait." She said, losing her train of thought as she slowed, focusing on the screens.

"I know who you are. You've come to destroy me." A small voice echoed through the overhead speakers as dots of light formed into a hologram blocking the way.

"You're…" Sarah said stunned.

"Skynet." Reese growled, raising his gun to point at the fully formed hologram but not yet firing. This thing…this thing had killed his best friend….caused Judgement day. Or at least it would.

"I'm becoming Skynet." The voice corrected, peering up at them with the face of a child.

"You're not a child." Sarah grit out next, raising her gun as well.

"We know what you are." The soldier growled again. "What you're going to do."

"What I'm going to do?" The hologram tipped its head. "You came here to kill me." There was something dangerously close to emotion in that voice.

"But that's not going to happen." A new voice echoed through the hall. Recognition caused Kyle's blood to simmer in anger as the man stepped slowly down the hall towards them, sly smile on his face. At the appearance of its future self, the hologram flickered away.

"You…" Kyle grit out, open firing at the AI and sending it stumbling a few feet back. Once the rain of bullets ended, it laughed, recovering quickly to stare at them.

"Kyle Reese…" It set a smug gaze on him. "And Sarah Connor…. Killing you will be even easier than killing John."

"Don't you dare speak of him!" Reese yelled, sending out a second rain of bullets that the AI just as easily shrugged off.

"Kyle, he's baiting you…" Sarah rested her hand on the soldiers arm, taking a step back for every step the AI took forward.

"Is that what I'm doing…" The AI grinned, which came across as something that looked closer to a wolf than human emotion. "I shot down your leader like the dog he was. I will do the same to you and you will do nothing to stop me. After all…there aren't enough bullets in the world to destroy me." Skynet spoke before sprinting forward. He was quickly intercepted by Pops, who had pulled on the magnetic field gauntlets.

"Go! Ahead and down the stairs!" The T-800 yelled before taking the T-5000 through a wall with him, clearing a path for the two.

Letting out a frustrated yell, Kyle sprinted ahead followed closely by Sarah. It was infuriating, but Skynet was right. There was nothing he could do. Unlike other T models that had weaknesses, there was nothing that he could do to harm this one. He wasn't going to be able to avenge his friend. John died at the hands of that thing and he couldn't even hurt it.

Steeling his mind, he focused on the mission. He'd have to settle on destroying Skynet of this timeline.

...  
Author's note:

Again, thank you all for reviewing! I considered starting to reply to those I can but I don't know what to saaaayyyy gah. Just know that to those that review, I appreciate you all very very much. Its my favorite thing posting a new chapter and then checking my email and seeing feedback.  
I'm glad I was able to cause such EMOTION from the last chapter heheheh I like my tragedy  
I've never written a fanfic quite this long before so it's uncharted territory for me. I hope you are all enjoying it :)


	21. Chapter 21

Rushing through the lower levels, Reese had already wasted most of the magazines for his semi-automatic just busting through locked doors. "Are we almost there?"

"It's just through here and across a larger room." Sarah pointed to yet another steel door. She had spent the majority of the day studying the layout and blueprints of the facility that had been left open on John's third computer screen.

Loud steps behind them caused both to turn wide eyed, and guns raised but it was only Pops. The T-800 was looking worse for wear. A lot of the skin on his face had been scraped away leaving the steel to shine from underneath. One of his arms had a similar look going on, his jacket sleeve hanging torn at his side. "He is subdued but only for a moment." The old terminator answered their question before either could ask. He had left the T-5000 pinned against a wall using a large piece of shrapnel.

"Then we better move." Sarah pointed to the door which Pop's easily kicked down.

The next room had a large window instead of one wall. The contents through the window actually caused Reese to slow, brows coming together. "That's…A time machine…"

"It's not functional." Pop's wasted no time striding across the room to the next door. "Only the quantum field works, nothing else."

"At least that's a blessing…" Sarah muttered as they moved out and across the large room that held the time device. What caught her eye then, distressed her more than the huge machine. In large pools set up with laser arrays was what looked very much like Poly ally. By god, she'd had a life time's worth of dealing with the substance in the form of a T-1000. "What about that? Is it dangerous?"

"No. It needs a CPU and programming to take shape." Pop's answered quickly.

"Thank god…" She picked up her pace as the two men reached the other side of the room.

Just as Pops slammed open the door, the tiny pricks of light formed once more into the hologram. It looked older now, rather than the small child. "You won't succeed." Even the voice that echoed through the speakers seemed older.

"Sarah, look at the countdown." Kyle pointed to the monitor mounted on the wall. Rather than read close to 24 hours it read only 4.

"You're going to be too late." The hologram spoke. "Why can't you just accept your fate."

"Because there is no fate except that which we make for ourselves." Kyle lifted his gun, shooting out the source of the lights and causing the hologram to dissipate. It was something John always said, repeated over and over in his speeches; to his soldiers and those following him. It was like a personal anthem, one that rang so true. The future is never set; the very events they were living right now were rewriting history and proved that anthem.

"What happened to the countdown?" Sarah questioned as they began moving again, stepping quickly into the server room.

"Skynet's program is aging, becoming more and more mature and self-aware. It will be ready to upload sooner the quicker it ages." Pops set his gaze to flicker across the room. "This is it."

"Ok." Sarah set down her bag with a thunk. "We'll split up, set the charges. Keep on the com."

As she was speaking, the hologram flickered to life again, watching them. "I will not allow this." It had aged even more, appearing to be an older teen.

"What are you going to do? You don't even have a body." Reese scoffed, adjusting his gun to shoot out the projector. But before he had the chance, the hologram spoke again.

"Not yet. But he does." Rounding the corner and stepping through the hologram was the very angry T-5000. It collided with Pops and easily sent the T-800 flying off the steel walk way to drop onto the floor at least ten feel below.

Scrambling away, Sarah darted down a second walkway, screaming all the way for Reese to run as well. Facing down the AI, Kyle sent a rain of bullets into the fast approaching T-5000 but once again they did little to affect him. Baring down on the soldier, Reese was about to scramble away when Skynet caught him by the shoulder. Twisting and throwing him with an incredible feat of strength across the walkway, the AI laughed. "Humans are so fragile; it's a miracle your species has existed for as long as they have."

Slamming into the opposite rail with an explosion of pain in his side, Kyle groaned, head spinning. After a moment to regain his composure, he began a stumbling retreat before the AI had him by the back of the shirt. Tossing him easily to the ground, Skynet loomed over him. "It's over."

Suddenly the T-5000 stumbled back and away from Reese as a shotgun blasted it in the chest, once, twice, three times. "I thought I told you. It's not over yet."

Ears ringing and world spinning, the voice that spoke didn't seem real. Groaning, Reese rolled onto his side but was suddenly pulled to his feet by strong arms. "Kyle! Go!" The soldier's eyes widened as his mind cleared when he realized he was looking up into the scarred face of John Connor.

"You…" Skynet growled as it recovered, almost mimicking the same sentiment John had had towards it back in the cell. "This is impossible. I killed you."

Stepping protectively in front of his father, the military leader eyed down the T-5000. "Think again." He blasted the AI back another foot with a shot. Wasting no time, John grabbed Kyle by the sleeve and dragged him away.

"John…" Reese felt like crying in relief, even as was half dragged along with a murderous T-5000 behind them. "How…"

"No time, Kyle." John grit out, letting go of his friend.

"John Connor." Pop's had finally managed to get back onto the walkway, approaching with a quick stride. The T-800's gaze suddenly flicked back to focus on Skynet who was approaching, murder in its eyes. "Go." He spoke before rushing past the two to engage the T-5000.

"Come on." John stooped to pick up the bag of remaining explosives, before moving off down another walkway.

 _Earlier_

Slumping back in a chair in the morgue, Grant stared at the body that lay unmoving on a table across the room. They had only removed the man's shirt, not even bothering to properly prep the body or do an autopsy. It was obvious what had killed John Connor, there was nothing left to decipher from the murder. Well except for the identity of the assailant and how it happened.  
The day had been a nightmare of questions and concerns about police policy and internal affairs riding them about what had happened and how.

From the moment these people had hit their radar, things just seemed to become increasingly impossible. He had sat for hours watching the video feed of the cell on repeat, trying to piece together an answer. But the more he watched it, the more obvious it became that the assailant had _phased_ through the bars.

Not only that, but he began feeling responsible for what happened. Perhaps this man…John Connor…may have been able to hold off the gunman until help arrived if he hadn't still been shackled. But then again, who knew? Who knew if the gunman was even human? Maybe he was a robot, just like the shit O'Brian had been spouting for years.

It couldn't be possible….none of it could be possible….but maybe it was.

Head balanced in his hand; Grant's eyes stared sadly at the body of the victim. It was always hard…seeing death like this...Particularly when you'd just spoken with the person. But he had been a good man. John had been so many opportunities to kill him, but he hadn't. Back in the tunnels he and his companions could have blown the blockade sky high considering the arsenal they had…but they didn't.

What made everything so much worse is that none had yet managed to find the location of this man's employer. They weren't even sure if his name was actually John Connor. They had already contacted most of the military and government organizations that might claim the body but still no leads had presented themselves.

A sudden groan brought Grant out of his thoughts. Turning his head to the door, his brows furrowed when he realized he was still alone. A thought suddenly occurred to him causing him to turn a horrified expression towards the body across the room. His heart nearly dropped into his stomach when an arm moved to clutch at the hole in its chest.

Standing, he slowly approached to make sure he wasn't seeing things, and sure enough John Connor was definitely moving. Stepping back slowly, he almost reached the door when words were grit out.

"Wait…" They were pained and quiet, but definitely directed at him. "Please…" The desperation in the voice caused the lieutenant pause.

"Are you…" Grant spoke, voice cracking in fear. Clearing his throat he finished the sentence. "A zombie?"

"No..." John grit out. He would have coughed a laugh at the absurdity of the question if his entire chest wasn't on fire.

"Are you human?" Grant tried again, eyes wide as he hovered near the door.

"I am…" John angled his head down to try and get a look at his chest. "I was…." He tried again. "I don't know anymore." He could feel his heart beating; an impossibility when he remembered back to what happened. Focusing in on the injury and the phase matter, horror gripped him when he realized what had happened. The heart that beat in his chest was no longer his own. Unable to repair the damage, the phase matter had then rewritten the organ, keeping his human anatomy in a stasis before reviving him. Normally when a part of him that was phase matter was injured it didn't cause him pain…but this was agony.

"If you're not human…what are you…?" Grant whispered, thinking he knew where this was going.

Holding a hand over the still open wound, John tried to sit up but found he didn't yet have the strength. Lying still again, he turned pained blue eyes towards the lieutenant. "Come look if you want the truth."

Nervous, Grant didn't move, eyes darting towards the door.

"If I wanted to hurt you, I had so many chances." John shut his eyes, focusing on the phase matter. He was more machine now than man…He was becoming closer and closer to being the monster Skynet wanted to make of him.

Curiosity overriding fear, Grant finally shuffled towards the man. Peering down at the wound, his eyes widened. Silver waves of particles flickered over his skin in waves, focusing around the injury. The wound was slowly closing before his eyes, those same silver particles knitting together to form a false tissue. "What is that…" The cop whispered.

"Machine phase matter…It's hard to explain to someone with no prior knowledge…" John could feel the wound closing, not even bothering to repair the human tissue but instead just replacing it. The more machine he became…the faster his healing process.

"Are you…" Grant couldn't believe he was actually asking this. "Actually from the future?"

John opened his eyes to meet the cops. "Yes."

Running hands through his hair, the cop stepped away, laughing nervously. "This is crazy…this is totally insane."

Groaning, John finally managed to push himself up from the table, swinging his legs over the side. "How long has it been?"

Looking back at the man, Grant dropped his hands to his sides. "About a day."

"How long exactly." John pressed his hand against the still healing wound over his heart. Blood was still oozing from the wound, tacky and sluggish. He felt lightheaded and weak, which he should expect considering how much blood he'd lost.

"Um…" Grant stared at the man, trying to think. "About twenty two hours." He paused, regarding John. "Who tried to kill you..?"

"It would be hard to explain.." John grit out, bending forward and waiting for a fresh wave of pain radiating from his chest to pass.

"Was it a robot too?" Grant whispered, still trying to wrap his head around the whole thing.

"A machine, yes; made entirely of what my body is infected will."

"Holy shit…" the cop returned to his chair to collapse into it. "So O'Brian was right….all along…"

Not answering the lieutenant, John finally tried to push himself to his feet but dropped to his knees. Watching, Grant got up and moved to help the man. "You shouldn't be moving…"

"I have to go…Meet Sarah and Kyle…Has news of what happened hit the media?" John allowed Grant to help him back to his feet to sit back down on the table.

"Yeah…the whole story hit the news…including your name. Sarah and Kyle…those are the two from back at the hospital…"

John swore quietly, trying to ignore the pain. "If it hit the news than chances are they'll go about the plan without me…" The military leader mused aloud, trying to get his head back into the game.

"What plan…something about Skynet?" Grant was still trying to figure out what was going on…this man…John Connor was a Cyborg. The gunman who'd nearly killed him…was a robot? They were both from the future? And…..this guy and his friends plan was too….

"Skynet…" John started but paused, waiting for a wave of agony to pass. "Is a program designed to automate missile defense. Once it comes online, it will launch those missiles at who it considers it's enemy. Mankind."

"But wait…" Grant frowned, beginning to understand. "You're talking about nuclear war…with a computer program…?" He paused when something occurred to him. "Cyberdyne…Genysis. That's the countdown you were talking about. Genisys is Skynet?"

"Yes."

"Holy…shit…" Grant pulled out his phone, bringing up the countdown. "If that's true…we only have 26 hours before this all happens." There was still something inside of him that wanted to shut down and not believe the story; tell himself it was too crazy and lock this guy back up. But…after everything he'd seen…it couldn't not be true. "How will you stop it?"

John's mind raced. If that was the case then his parents would probably heading for Cyberdyne right now. If they thought he was dead, and they probably did, they would go ahead with the plan anyway. And even if they didn't, the 24 hours was nearly up.

"We planned…to blow it's servers before it comes online." John grit out, turning desperate eyes up to the man. "Will you help me?"

...

Now mostly recovered from the attack and from shock, Kyle's mind snapped back into action. His side still ached but he would survive. Hitting the button to his com, he spoke. "Sarah, where are you?"

"I'm almost done setting the explosives over here." The crackling voice over the com paused for a moment. "How did you get away from Skynet?"

The soldier looked over at John, who was right down to business, setting one of the charges with his game face in place. "I had some help." His heart soared in joy that John was alive. He couldn't fathom how… but it didn't matter.

"Ok. Set the last charges and meet me at the entrance to the server room."

"Understood." Kyle answered before stepping over to his friend, throat tightening. "They showed the video feed of what happened on tv. We thought that you were dead….. You have some serious explaining to do."

"I know." John finished setting the charge before turning to the soldier. Finally getting a good look at the man, Kyle realized how very unwell he looked. His skin was pale and shone with sweat. And the way that his brow was slightly furrowed along with the look in his eyes gave away the amount of pain he was in. "But now is not the time. The T-800 won't be able to slow Skynet for long."

Nodding, Kyle put on his own game face. "There's one final charge to set. Let's get this thing done."


	22. Chapter 22

Finishing setting up and activating the final explosive, Kyle turned back to John who was keeping watch, shotgun in shaking hands. His eyes flicked down to the weapon before up to his friends face. "Jesus, John…" He pointed down to shotgun, which immediately stopped shaking.

"Talk about it later, Kyle." Both men looked up when a loud crash and screeching metal could be heard across the room. Pops was still engaging Skynet in hand to hand it seemed. "We need to go. Now." John was surprised that the T-5000 hadn't entirely dismantled Sarah's protector yet. Then again, he knew better than anyone the loyalty that a reprogrammed T-800 could have. He would fight for her, until the bitter end.

Taking off towards the exit, Kyle rounded the corner first, causing Sarah's eyes to brighten. "Thank god you-" Her words cut off, breath catching in her throat when she laid eyes on the second man that rounded the corner. "John…" She stood dumbfounded, gun trembling in her hands. "That…can't be."

"I know…." The older man gasped, laying a hand on the young woman's shoulder while trying to catch his breath. "I know. But there's no time, we have to go."

Sarah nodded, taking a few steps behind her companions in her shock but quickly stopped. "Pops.." She was just turning back when Kyle grabbed her arm.

"There's no stopping Skynet. He's the only way we'll live long enough to get out of here and set off the blast." Sarah was just about to argue again when Kyle took her by the shoulders. "I'm sure he'll survive. Both of them will. Todays about stopping judgement day, right?" They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before the young woman finally nodded.

"Ok, let's go." As the three turned towards the door, the solder actually had to slow his pace to match John's.

"You worry about yourself, Kyle. I didn't come here to drag you down." John's heart was racing, the new organ was still adjusting to its half human body and was caused him constant agony. The machine phase matter was still trying to figure out that it did indeed _have_ to continue regular function rather than move like it would on a completed T-3000. He'd been running mostly on adrenaline since he'd gotten to the facility but now he was close to running on fumes. He couldn't go on much longer.

"You saved my life back there." Kyle set a stern gaze on his friend. "We're all getting out of here." This was so goddamn typical of John Connor. The leader, the prophet, the messiah…Kyle wasn't going to let him become the martyr, even though John was constantly leaning towards the title.

"Guys! Come on!" Sarah yelled from ahead, already half way up the stairs.

Picking up the pace, Kyle actually had to grab John's jacket to drag him along in keeping up. The man was slowing as every minute passed.

Finally reaching the lobby, two surprised heads bobbed up from behind the security desk.

"You?" Kyle slowed, brows coming together in confusion.

"It's ok, Kyle, he's with me." John took the moment to lean against a wall and catch his breath as Grant and O'Brian rounded the desk.

"You're gonna blow this place right? You don't have much time." The police lieutenant motioned to the countdown on the big screen that read only 15 minutes remaining.

"Why the change of heart?" Sarah jogged across the room towards the two cops.

"I watched your guy get blasted full of holes then return from the dead." Grant swept a hand through his cropped hair. "Didn't take much convincing after that."

"The detonator, where is it?" John finally pushed himself from the wall, motioning for the rest to head towards the door.

"Here." Sarah pulled it from her bag, opening and holding the door for the rest of the small group to exit.

Stepping out last, Kyle nodded to her, face determined. "Hit it."

Looking to each of the people standing around her in the manicured grass, the young woman pressed the button. The motion having a certain finality to it.

A few seconds ticked by.

A minute passed.

And nothing.

"What happened!?" Kyle stepped forward, taking the detonator and slamming his thumb into the button a few more times for good measure. "Why isn't it working!?" His voice bordered on hysteria as his gaze flicked up to Sarah.

"I don't know! We did everything right. Don't look at me!" Sarah took the detonator back, panic clear on her face.

"I don't think the problem is on our end." John grit out. He had collapsed to sit on the grass, doubled over in pain and exertion. Letting out a long breath, he pushed himself back to his feet, forcing his game face on.

"Wait. You're not going back in there…." Kyle grabbed his friend by the shoulder, spinning him round to face him. "John…" He shook his head, eyes wide and panicked. "…you can barely stand."

"Kyle." John's raised his gaze to meet. "We don't have time." He forced himself to stand straight, erasing any pain or fear that may have played across his expression. "We have 15 minutes. We need to stop it. I won't allow the world you grew up in to happen."

"What do you plan to do?" Kyle whispered, hand dropping from his friends shoulder. He was right. If they didn't stop this things now….there would be no tomorrow. Everything that they'd done…would have been for nothing and that would be two wars they'd failed in.

"The quantum field generator; if I activate it I can blow the entire facility." He took another breath, squaring his shoulders before reloading the shotgun that was still grasped in his hands.

"But we couldn't possibly get out of there in time…" Kyle's eyes widened, heart dropping. "The generator only takes 60 seconds to start up, maybe a few minutes more to blow…"

"Not we. Me." John turned back to his friend, meeting his gaze. "This isn't my world. I'm not even human. You can have a life, here Kyle. Live the life you never got to in our timeline. For me." He ignored the beginning of Kyle's protests and instead turned to Sarah. "Mom. Protect him…Goodbye." With a last look at the two, he turned forcing his feet to fly over the ground back towards the glass doors. Not having the time, a solid blast from his shot gun shattered the glass just before he flew into the building. It was better this way. If Sarah and Kyle got away then he still had a chance. Maybe not him personally…but a John Connor that would grow up with the two people he loved the most, safe and together. Both Kyle and Sarah deserved that life, more than anyone. And him? He'd already lived long enough.

"No! John!" Kyle moved towards to facility but was stopped by a solid grip on his arm.

"Reese…" Sarah strengthened her grip, forcing the soldier to look down at her.

"I keep losing him…" Kyle looked down at her. "Whenever I think I get him back…I just keep losing him…" He grit his teeth, eyes turning back to the glass doors and his best friend disappearing into the depths of the building.

"We need to get out of range…" Sarah spoke quietly, own heart lurching at the loss. Not only Pops…but her son as well. "We need to go."

Authors note:  
You didn't think it would actually be that easy, did you?

I'm starting to feel very competitive with the other fic writers out there. Whenever this isn't the most recently updated under the terminator tag it makes me itch to write. Also, to anyone who is not...you all need to go and check out 'Revival' by Castalle. It does have the T-3000 version of John but it's a fantastic and very smart story. Very well written.


	23. Chapter 23

There was only one thing he allowed himself to think about while running through those halls. There was no more Kyle Reese; no more Sarah Connor. He was no longer injured. There was no more pain, or the driving need to stop and breathe. There was no more John Connor.

There was only the mission.

Flying down the stairs towards Cyberdynes actual research levels, John didn't allow himself to think about his racing heart. He pushed past the pain that tore through his chest, locking it away. He'd had to do this before in the past…or was it the future? During the war…injured and without backup, desperate to finish the mission. Except this…this was the be all end all of desperation. The final mission.

Tightening his grip on the shotgun, he frantically threw a glance around the halls once he reached the room with the large glass windows. Slowing his pace, he moving carefully and precisely, very aware that the distant sounds of battle were no longer there. It was probably the same reason that their detonator didn't work. Skynet.

Immediately upon reaching the entrance to the large inner room, John hit the release for the door. It didn't open. Taking a very deep breath, he hit it again. Still nothing.

"I know what you're planning."

Spinning on his heel and raising his gun, John narrowed his eyes when he came face to face with Skynet's hologram. This wasn't his age old enemy, it was its beginning. Except….the voice was the same, as was its face. He wondered if Genisys had modeled it's hologram after it's future self or vice versa.

"I've been your end since before you were conceived." The military leader growled, eyes flicking over to the countdown on the wall. He had 10 minutes. "You won't be able to stop me."

"There's no fate except that which we make for ourselves." The hologram answered, breaking John's concentration and sending him a step back in surprise. Those were _his_ words, _his_ anthem. How did the hologram know them?

Genisys smiled at John's reaction, taking pleasure in its enemy's obvious shock and disgust. After all those words were spoken by John Connors very own second in command. "Those words also apply to me. You won't be getting to that machine."

"Watch me." John swung the shotgun over his shoulder by the strap and turned to the door. His life didn't matter. All that mattered was the mission and only for another 9 and a half minutes. Shutting his eyes in concentration he dug his fingers in between the cracks of the door. He focused in on the nano matter in his body, listening to it, calling for it and bidding it to do his will. He felt the surge run down his arms like a tingling wave, followed shortly by his breath hitch and heart jump. Letting out a long breath, he channeled all of his strength into the phase matter and in a quick and violent movement wrenched open the door, sending an awful screech of steel across the room.

Falling to his knees, John's vision blacked for a moment, head spinning with the effort. The…The mission.

Snapping his eyes open, he moved forward; his first step more or a crawl than a stumble. His chest ached, lungs burning, but none of that mattered as he climbed the stairs and stumbled towards the time devices controls.

Leaning heavily on the panel, John slipped the shotgun's strap from around his shoulder and tossed it onto the time devices platform. Anything not encased in living tissue would cause a blast and the gun was the closest and easiest thing. It would suffice.

Eight minutes.

Black creeping on the edges of his vision, John's hands flew over the controls, activating the quantum field. Looking up when the rings began to spin, the resistance leader actually let his concentration slip. Breathing hard, he focused on the machine. It was almost over…And then his breath hitched.

A moment later, pain seared through his chest actually wrangling a strangled cry from his throat. Catching himself on the panel, the glint of silver flashed in front of him and it took him a moment to realize what it was. There was what looked like a spear protruding through his chest.

A hand clamped down painfully on his shoulder then, pulling him away from the panel. "You'll always lose in the end. It IS over…now." Skynet spoke into his ear, shoving the spear it had fashioned from its own arm further through John's chest. Then in an angry twist, it threw the resistance leader hard to the ground and away from the panel.

Choking on blood and desperately gasping for breath that wasn't coming, John stared wide eyes up at the AI. Pressing a hand to the 4 inch wide hole through his chest, the resistance leader sent the second shaking hand to try and draw the handgun from his leg holster. Skynet's foot handed hard on his wrist before he was even able to raise the weapon.

Leaning over, the T-5000 casually flicked the off switch on the control panel, powering down the quantum field. As the blue light of the machine dimmed, so did all hope for John.

The AI tsk'ed before stooping to pick up the handgun. "Still fighting, even to the end." Skynet smiled down at the man. "You and I….we've been fighting this war for a very long time. Why don't you just relax and let it end…There's only seven minutes before I go online."

"No…" The resistance leader tried to grit out but it sounded more like a cough than a word. The phase matter was rushing to the wound, trying to repair it. But despite his best efforts he couldn't seem to muster the strength to get up. His limbs weren't listening to him, his vision was darkening.

"John…" The AI took its time, toying with the gun it in his hands before clicking off the safety. "You don't have to continue fighting. I think I've finally realized how to terminate what I tried to build."  
Skynet raised the gun to point at the resistance leaders head. Still barely able to draw breath, John stared wide eyed up at the muzzle of the gun. It was truly over. He'd failed…Kyle…Sarah…the world. He couldn't seem to move, only wait for his life to end. And that shot…that shot would kill him.

And then the shot came, ringing and loud.

But it was not the barrel of Skynet's gun smoking. Instead, the AI found itself stumbling back, a look of anger crossing its face. "When will you people ever learn that you've lo-" He was cut off by another shot from a pump action.

"You'll have to kill us before that happens." It was Sarah's voice that spoke then.

"Just keep shooting him, Sarah!" Kyle's voice rang out clear and suddenly John felt strong arms around him.

He wanted to yell, to scream at Reese to hit the button. But all he managed to do was raise a shaking finger to point at the controls. Understanding immediately, the soldier set his friend down and activated the machine once more before returning to John. "We have to go, come on…"

They were empty words, both new it. Without staying and pumping Skynet full of lead, the AI would shut down the machine again and all would be lost.

"Reese! Help!" Sarah's voice rang out as Skynet growled, its body repairing from the bullets and stepping forward. Without even standing, Reese open fired on the AI, once again keeping it at bay. It was all they could do. But it would suffice.

And then steel arms wrapped around Skynets chest. Or at least one and a half did. Pops looked like he'd been through a meat grinder, but he was still up and moving. "Sarah…Connor…" The T-800 grit out, managing to keep a firm hold of the thrashing T-5000. "Saferoom…lowest level…go…."

"What about you!" Sarah screamed, backing away from the thrashing T-5000 and her protector.

"Go!" Pops yelled, turning to throw the very angry AI away from his companions.

"We might make it in time." Kyle spoke urgently, motioning for the young woman to help him.

The countdown read 5 minutes…and by the looks they probably had less than that before the device blew. Slipping a careful but hurried arm around John, he hoisted the man to his feet, nearly buckling. His friend was mostly dead weight, hovering on unconsciousness.

"Sarah!" Reese yelled again, finally getting the young woman to turn her gaze away from Pops' struggle to help him. Rushing over, she supported John the best she could on his other side as the three rushed away.  
Kyle's heart thundered as the three rushed through the broken door and towards the elevator. The soldier was terrified when he slammed the down button that the lift would halt and die at the decision of Genisys. That fear didn't leave until the doors slid open for them at the lowest level. It seemed that the program had its mind somewhere else.

"Come on…" Kyle desperately tried to pick up the pace, sending worried glances from John to behind them. They must only have seconds left.

Reaching the end of the wall, Sarah slammed a frustrated fist on the panel. "It's got biometrics! I can't get in!"

"There's a reason he sent us down here!" Reese yelled, voice raised in panic. "Try!"

Sure enough, at the young woman's handprint and voice an audible click could be heard as the door opened. Just as they slipped into the room, the initial rumble of the explosion rocked the building. Dropping John rather unceremoniously, Kyle wrenched the door closed with all the strength in his body. It was the actual force of the blast that shut it the last inch.

Stepping away from the door, the soldier stared at it for a moment. Had they…succeeded? Did that blast hit before or after Skynet uploaded? Then again, he supposed worrying about it at the moment wouldn't do any good.

Pulling his thoughts away he finally turned back to John, who Sarah was kneeling next to. The young woman had a hand pressed over the chest wound, her eyes turning up to the soldier.

"Kyle…" Sarah's expression wavered and she turned her gaze back down to John. With her free hand, she smoothed the hair away from his scarred face before whispering. "He's not breathing."

"No." He wasn't sure why…and he couldn't seem to stop it…but anger suddenly welled within the young man. "John, you're not dying you-" He almost said son of a bitch, but snapped his mouth shut with a glance at Sarah.

Dropping to his knees, he gripped John's shoulder, eyes raking over the wound and then back up to his friends face. "You survived how many bullet wounds to the heart?" The words were an angry growl as he placed his other hand on John's chest. "You're not going to die. You're not doing that to me again. No."

"Kyle…" Sarah spoke softly, trying to make eye contact with the man, but he wouldn't take his eyes off John.

"Come on!" He slammed his fist into John's chest, unsure if it was sheer anger that brought the tears to his eyes then or something else. And then something caught his blurred gaze; silver, beginning to roll in waves over the wound.  
John's chest rose then, a shallow breath but a breath all the same, causing both Sarah and Kyle to let out a sigh of relief.

"...asshole..." Kyle whispered before breaking out into something that could only be a considered a mixture of laughter and sobbing.

Shaking her head, Sarah looked down at John silently, still gently stoking his hair. The conflict within her was almost causing her physical pain. They'd all made it alive including John; destroyed Skynet, stopped Genisys. Except Pops was gone…lost to her in the blast. What made it even worse was that Skynet's AI was no doubt already recovering from the blast. It could even already be on its way to them now, ready for revenge.

She sat like that for a while, John unconscious and half cradled in Sarah's arms while Kyle kneeled, holding his hand. A sudden groan perked both Sarah and Kyle up.

"Hey…" Sarah spoke softly, catching John's gaze when those blue eyes finally cracked open.

"John.." Kyle leaned over his friend, hand gripping his shoulder.

"W-" The resistance leader started to speak but ended up in a fit of coughing. Furrowing his brow, he cleared his throat trying again, but even then, the words that came out were little more than a rasp. "We failed…?"

"No…" Kyle caught John's pained gaze, a smile forming on his face as he shook his head. "We did it."

Authors note:  
And now is where all of the hard decisions come into play.  
I've toyed with a lot of ideas. A peaceful ending…or a not so peaceful ending…I've even toyed with having them be a moment too late and judgement day happening anyway. But I probably won't do that. Well…? I've always been fascinated with writing the war….  
One of the few hitches I've found is how I'm going to deal with the T-5000. I haven't been planning any of this out. I just kind of start writing and it just…happens. I seriously, seriously considered for reals killing John but I couldn't let go of his character, I love him too much.  
So anyway… Any suggestions? Endings you'd like to see? This is a hard one for me; there are so many paths I could take. Or should I keep going….? I've considered that too. Having them continue their chase of the T-5000…maybe bring in Dyson. ? guys ?


	24. Chapter 24

They'd….won? Could that possibly be true? Against all odds his little family had stopped Skynet from coming online? He knew that he should feel like celebrating, but he could barely even think straight at the moment.

Consciousness still flickering in and out, John could feel the phase matter picking around the edges of the wound. It hurt to breathe and every beat of the heart that was not his own caused a dizzy sensation. He felt lightheaded, his world spinning as if he was drunk, even with his eyes closed. Because of all these issues combined it took him longer than it should have to realize that something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

The phase matter was flitting around the wound but not healing it, investigating the damage but not beginning repairs. Trying to force his mind out of the haze to reach out to it, John suddenly realized he couldn't. Panic gripped him and he squeezed his eyes shut in concentration, trying to make the connection to the machine matter.

John realised then that it wasn't that he couldn't reach it with his thoughts; it just _wasn't listening to him_.

The panic brought on another wave of dizziness and as it was just passing he was hit by a fresh wave of pain. Eyes snapping open, he actually cried out, rolling onto his side and gripping his chest with both hands.

"John!" Kyle who had been trying to figure a way out of the room was kneeling next to his friend in an instant. "What's happening?"

Hearing the soldier's words loud and clear, John couldn't seem to force out a response. Gritting his teeth, he made another strangled sound of agony as pain bloomed through his chest. He turned his head, pressing his forehead into the cement to keep his pained expression from the gazes of his family. A sick feeling gripped him as he realized started to realize what was happening.

"What's going on?" Sarah's voice was grave as she joined Kyle and John's side.

"I don't know." There was panic in Reese's voice as he gripped his friends shoulder. "I don't know…everything seemed fine until a moment ago…" It was obvious that he wasn't going to get a response out of John.

Writhing, the resistance leader clutched at his chest, willing the phase matter to listen to him. He'd always known that with the way things had been going this day would probably come. And he's always hoped that it would not. He could feel it going about the agonizing process of not repairing the damage but instead rewriting his lungs. Not only that but it was branching out, running through his veins in searing agony and reaching out to everything in him that was still human. "No-" He managed to grit out. No…he needed to keep control…to stop it….He'd already lost so much of his humanity…and in fact, that was part of the issue.

"John! What's happening!?" Kyle's grip tightened on his friends shoulder in fear. They'd beaten Skynet…stopped judgement day. But it seemed that any victory for their little group always came at a price. A glint of silver suddenly caught Reese's gaze causing him to actually lift his hands away from his son's shoulders. Phase matter was spreading across John's skin in waves; not just tiny specks like from his healing process, but in waves like you'd see on a T-1000.

Kyle couldn't manage to speak, horror at what was happening catching his words in his throat. He could only stare as the moving twisting waves of silver crawled up John's neck.

John had felt the phase matter rewrite his anatomy before. Normally it was a slow process that took hours and brought only an ache of discomfort. He'd, over the years, began to believe it was only capable of a slow change because of its incomplete design. But he was beginning to think now that the more machine he was, the quicker it moved and the better it worked. On the other hand, the less human he was, an increasing amount of pressure was put on his remaining human anatomy. This had been his body's final straw. Understanding its hosts function's it had kick-started the remaining change in a move of self-preservation.

For years his body was already partly in Skynet's territory, and now in a matter of minutes his enemy was about to finally succeed in its plan. .

Disgust and horror quickly turned into rage when the military leader felt the machine matter begin the climb up his neck and to his head. With blood that was already quickly changing like molten steel running hot through his veins, it was becoming so potent that it was making his mind fuzzy. Forcing himself to move, John rolled from his side to face Kyle who was staring down at him in wide eyed fear and pain. Flinging a hand over that he could no longer consider his own, John caught Kyle's wrist in a steel tight grasp that actually caused the man to cry out.

"Kyle." John wheezed, forcing his eyes open to see his best friend and father for possibly the last time. The intense blue that his eyes had been was now a swirling and flickering gray. "Your gun. Take it out." The words were forced through grit teeth.

"John…what….I-"

"DO IT." The scream was wrought of pain and desperation and had the soldier reaching for the hand gun at his hip.

"What's…" Sarah stared down at her son, horrified as the silver crept up his face, overtaking the scars that had become familiar to her.

Once the gun was in sight, John caught the wrist that held it in a shaking grasp and guided it down so the muzzle rested on his own forehead. "You have to…" He trailed off, gasping in pain before he managed to grit out his next words. "Kill me. Please."

"What…" The soldier breathed, mouth dropping open in horror before his expression turned angery. "No! Are you fucking crazy! No! John! I'm not going to shoot you!"

"Kyle!" Finally coming to her own realization about what was happening, Sarah's eyes flicked from Reese to her son. "Look at him!" Her words trailed off. She'd always wondered to what extent the machine had taken John…But she'd always known that he'd been in control. But here…now…he knew better than anyone that he was losing that control. "You might have to…"

"DO IT, REESE!" The military leader basically screamed the words before squeezing his eyes shut. It felt like someone was wrapping his brain in barbed wire and then pulling the ends to tighten it. He didn't have much time left. It was taking everything he had to stay lucid. "I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU!"

If Skynet's plan succeeded…if it managed to completely rewrite him as a man, overtaking everything that made him John Connor…

He was afraid; a fear that he revisited from long ago… back thirty years and into a different timeline when he was lying on Skynet's operating table. This was a fear more potent that even that. In that timeline he would have become his enemies slave, a pawn, a machine to work against the resistance he'd fought for hard for. But here…now…he was so afraid, terrified… that it would make him hurt his closest friends.

"No!" Kyle tried to pull the weapon away but John's grasp was one of steel and still held his wrist firm. "NO! I don't believe you could do that! Fight it, John!"

"KYLE!" Sarah's voice had become more desperate. She considered pulling out one of her own weapons but realized she'd emptied her last magazines against the T-5000 during the desperate final minutes of their retreat. "Do it!"

"I CAN'T!" The soldier finally yelled, gritting his own teeth and turning his face down and shutting his eyes. "I can't."

John's hand fell away then, leaving a newly forming bruise on Kyle's wrist, to thump against the ground with a heavy clang. Opening his eyes, the soldier stared panic stricken down into his best friends face. John's eyes were shut now, the pain slowly ebbing from his features to leave his expression calm…like death. The phase matter flickered over his skin, rewriting every final inch of humanity until even that calmed as well; retaking the resistance leaders features to the last details.

Lowering the weapon, Reese's breath hitched in his throat. Setting the gun down to clack against the cement, he slowly reached toward to check his friends pulse. John's skin was already cooling…or could it even be considered skin? Had Kyle's thought not been racing in panic, he might have been surprised about how very similar the phase matter mimicked humanity. Not finding a pulse, Kyle sat back, breath coming out in panicked gasps as he looked down at his friend.

Not saying a word, Sarah stared down at the still form of her son. Slowly she stood, backing away until she was standing more than 15 feet across the room before speaking. "Is he…."

Eyes dull, the soldier didn't even raise the gaze that stared unseeing at his friends face. "He has no pulse."

"We need to get out of here…" She spoke quietly, voice urged and tinged with fear. "He was afraid for a reason…Kyle…"

Expression changing to one of pain, Kyle leaned forward. John Connor had always put him through a ringer of emotion, even back during the war…but after the past four days Kyle was at the end of his rope. Hanging his head, the soldier gripped John's jacket's, desperately clinging to the idea that his best friend was still with him. Truth was he wasn't sure if the man would even wake up. "He wouldn't hurt us…he-" The soldiers voice was suddenly cut off when a lightning fast hand swung up to seize his throat.

Rising to his feet in a way that no human could possibly achieve, John lifted the soldier right up with him, grip firm.

"J-" Kyle couldn't even force an entire word out past the death grasp as he tried to pull the hand away. John's eyes snapped open then, the blue that they once were shone with a light that wasn't natural, swirling silvery to mix with the color.

Brows furrowed in anger, but gaze almost unseeing, the T-3000 strode across the room to slam the soldier against the wall. He held him there even when a shot connected with his back. Unlike in the hours previous, the bullet barely affected the man as the phase matter repaired itself in seconds, leaving the torn jacket the only evidence that it even happened.

"Let him go!" Sarah yelled, Kyle's handgun in her grasp and leveled to take another shot.

Reese's grasping hands were growing weak as they continued trying to pry John's from his throat. But just then something changed in the military leader's expression. The unnatural light died away and left a very keen awareness in the now entirely blue eyes.

As quick as that hand snapped up to attack, it fell away. Horror washed over John's expression when Reese slid down the wall, holding his throat and coughing. "K-" He started, unable to finish. Taking a step away, he turned wide alarmed eyes to Sarah. Head slowly beginning to shake as if in denial, he backed away from the two until his body collided with the wall opposite them.

As the T-3000 retreated, Sarah rushed to Reese's side, all the while keeping her weapon raised and pointed. "Reese, you ok?" She spoke quietly, blue gaze flicking over to john.

Nodding, the soldier allowed the young woman to help him to his feet. "John…" His voice was a painful rasp that caused the military leader to visibly wince.

"It's not John." Sarah frowned in her son's direction. "He almost killed you."

"He stopped." Kyle spoke again, taking a step towards the other man.

"Stop!" Braced against the wall, John had doubled over, one hand gripping his head and the other flung out in a motion for Kyle to halt. Now that the initial shock of waking up had ended, his mind…if it could even been called that, was running diagnostics. It was a strange feeling… wrong…yet natural, coming to him like he'd been doing it for ages. His consciousness was no longer limited to his head, or just his humanity. It was held within the nanites themselves, connecting and merging with their knowledge, Skynet's knowledge and programming.  
Yet…they were incomplete. He was incomplete….There were errors…lost data in insufficient programming and connectivity within the phase matter itself. It was a quiet ache, different than that of his human self. The phase matter was registering errors, sending signals to his consciousness and creating the appropriate response. Pain. The nanites rippled over his shoulder where Sarah had shot him, remembrances and reality of that pain reaching John's mind.  
The entire experience left him with a feeling of disquiet. There was something else there, something pulling at his consciousness like electric signals zipping through the very air; something just in the dark recesses of his body that he couldn't process, tingling and calling for him.

"John…" His name being called snapped him out of his thoughts and brought him back to the situation.  
He lifted his gaze then, expression nervous. But even the very act of seeing his parents shocked him. His vision was sharpened and magnified, and even in the dim light the images were processed in perfect clarity. He could see every minute detail, down to the sweat beading on Sarah's forehead and the darkening bruise on Kyle's throat.

"Don't…come closer…" The resistance leader shut his eyes again, trying to come to an understanding of what he'd become. Was this temporary? Would he still turn? He was still afraid…of harming his parents…terrified that he had in fact nearly killed Kyle. Warning signal's like tiny electric pulses alerted him that the emotion was reading as an error. Fear was not something that the phase matter included and understood in its programming. An automatic response to repair whatever was causing the error began diagnostics then but John quickly shut it down. Emotion was reading like an error but he was still capable of it. He couldn't even be sure what was causing what he was feeling.

John finally raised his gaze after a minute to regard the two standing across the room from him. Sarah's face was a mix of fear and anger, for her own life…and for Kyle's. The soldier's on the other hand was one of pain and desperation. He knew exactly what the man was thinking, in fact, hundreds of responses of possible thoughts processed to John in milliseconds.

Skynet had succeeded….and yet….it had not. Something in its initial programming of the phase matter had failed. Skynet at the time hadn't understood the nuances of human emotion. And because of that fault it had written a flaw in its programming….it had failed to take that emotion away from its creation.

Authors notes:  
I should not be up right now I work in 6 hours. I couldn't stop myself from finishing and posting this though.

Anyhow, thanks to a few specific reviewers for helping me brainstorm ideas for where to take this. -cough- Cyberbutterfly and Redtail53. I love hearing from all of you though!

Note...seriously...look up 'We are the enemy' by Aranda. Cause wow. Dang. Lyrics so fitting. Listening to it on repeat.


	25. Chapter 25

"John…" Kyle tried to take another step forward but Sarah held him back, gun still raised. Her hand didn't deter him from finishing his thought. "That's…still you right?"

"I…" John leaned back against the wall, leveling a frown at the solider. "…don't know…"

"But you're not…about to kill us?" It hurt Kyle to even ask that. He didn't believe that John would turn on them, he couldn't believe that. John was still John.

Expression thoughtful, it took the resistance leader nearly a full minute to answer, running diagnostics a second time in fear that he'd missed something. "No."

"You're lying." Sarah still had one arm holding Reese back while the other held her gun steady. Her expression was hard, angry…distrustful. "We can't trust him, Reese."

"Sarah…" Reese started, turning his gaze to the young woman.

"No, Kyle…" John was the one who spoke then, turning all eyes in the room to him. "She's right that you can't trust me." He kept himself pressed against the wall, afraid that his body might move without his permission at any moment and strike down the two people most important to him. "I can't even trust myself. I…." He trailed off lowering his gaze. How much of him was lost in translation? How could he even know that this version of his was even entirely him? How much control could Skynet have over him that he didn't even know about?

Looking up again he spoke. "Right now…we need to get out of here…and then you need to get very far away from me."

"Look, John, just because something like this happened doesn't mean-" Kyle was cut off.

"Stop." The word was filled with exasperation and pain. "The last thing I want to do is leave you. But I can't…" He couldn't risk their lives, not because of his sentimentality.

"Ok..." Sarah finally spoke up, not daring to lower the gun yet. "So maybe you are still our John. How do you expect us to get out? The door won't open." While the resistance leader had lay unconscious on the ground both Kyle and Sarah had searched for some way out of the room. The only exit was the armored steel door that must weigh more than a truck with a locking mechanism that was beyond damaged. Neither wanted to accept it at the time but it had seemed that waiting for rescue was the only option.

Looking at her, the T-3000 shuffled along the wall towards the door, still afraid to move closer to them. The phase matter had made him stronger as a human…so it stood to reason that he would have a chance of getting the door open. Turning towards it, he slipped his fingers between the cracks like he'd done at the door in front of the Genisys hologram. Shutting his eyes, he focused on the phase matter.

Unlike before, calling it to his will was a completely different experience. Before, his human anatomy and the phase matter functioned almost separately; the phase matter he could control to an extent where his human side he could not. But now….he could feel every inch of the phase matter than made up his body. Without conscious thought it functioned as human anatomy would, mimicking the behaviour that it had for such a long time. But with only a thought, he could repurpose it to his needs.  
The entire experience was so surreal that John nearly lost focus. To be able to control every single aspect of one's self…

Funneling the nanites to his arms, his hands rippled gray before he attempted to wrench the door open. The steel actually bent under his grip before the door inched open just a sliver. Letting go in surprise, he sucked in a long breath that was just out of sheer habit. Unlike the strain that was put on humans after great feats of strength, john wasn't feeling any burn at all. He certainly had to put effort behind the action, but there was no unpleasant after effect.

Setting his hands in place, he tried again, throwing all the weight and power in his body against the door. After a moment and a loud screech, the steel actually bent outwards. The door hadn't entirely opened for it was jammed stuck at the top. John had actually bent the entire bottom half of the door outwards, leaving room for someone to slip out into the darkness of the wrecked building.

Shocked by his own feat of strength, the resistance leader took a step back, staring at what he'd just accomplished before raising his shaking hands to look at them. Nanites still rippled in waves over his skin, making him uneasy and slightly ill.

"Holy shit…" It was Reese who spoke first, breaking the silence with an awed and quiet voice.

"That proves my point." John spoke quietly, lowering his hands to his sides and keeping his back to them. "It's too dangerous. I still don't know…what I am."

"Let's just…get out…find Pops, and then decide what we're going to do…" Sarah spoke calmly, finally lowering her gun to her side. If the T-3000 was that strong, what would a few meager bullets do anyway?

"There's no way he could have survived that explosion…" Kyle spoke then, tearing his eyes away from his friend to set a soft gaze on the young woman. "Sarah, I'm sorry…"

Swallowing, she quickly shook her head. "I know that. Of course I do. We just…can't leave any part of him behind for them to find." He voice came out rushed, like she was trying to choke back tears and succeeding. "That's all."

"Ok." Kyle nodded, hearing her tone and wanting to appease her. After all, her T-800 was like John to him and if their positions had been reversed he'd be saying the same. "let's go…"

...

Leading the way through the destruction and dark, John felt Kyle's hand on the back of his jacket. The halls of the sub-basement that housed the bunker were half crumbling and full of debris. And past the light from the room it was so dark neither Kyle nor Sarah could make out anything more than ten feet away. John on the other hand saw their path with clarity. It wasn't inferred, but it was similar.

Leading them to the left around a partial collapse, the T-3000 stepped carefully over a pile of rubble. "Step carefully. Debris." His voice echoed eerily through the dark in a way that made him want to begin whispering.

A quiet swear from Kyle behind him told him that his friend had not heeded his warning.

Going on like this, the resistance leader finally managed to find a way up that wasn't blocked and helped his parents through. Sarah was still uneasy in his presence, flinching whenever he touched her. He didn't blame her, it was a good thing really….but it made that sick feeling come back to him.

Finally reaching the upper levels, the distant sound of sirens and loud voices could be heard. About an hour had passed since the explosion and the emergency crews were out in full force.

With there being enough light now from collapsed parts of the roof, Kyle and Sarah picked through the rubble on their own. Approaching ground zero of the blast, Sarah picked up her pace. Most of the room had been obliterated, leaving flattened steel and dust that had once been cement. There were still pools of polly alloy though, nested comfortably in large cracks that had formed across the room. Damn, that stuff was durable.

They found Pop's wedged in between a steel beams and a large cement chuck a few hundred meters away from the central blast. The majority of his skin had been incinerated and what was not was charred and black. His left arm had been ripped in half leaving dangling wires and bent steel. His endo skeleton on the other hand was only mildly harmed but trapped under the debris. Eyes that should have been glowing vibrant were flicking a dim red, sometimes dimming for minutes before coming back online.

"Help me get him out…" Sarah had her hands of the cement slab before turning large desperate eyes to her son. "Please." Any fear of John she had was suddenly gone, replaced with the desperation to help her protector.

John could hear Reese quietly swearing behind him when he moved to the cement slab. Lifting it with little more than a grimace of effort, John let the debris fall aside to free the T-800.

"We can't take him like that." Kyle ran his hands through his hair. "It's not like people will just nod and look the other way when we walk out of here carrying a future murder robot in all of its glory."

Sarah shot the soldier a cold look before kneeling next to her T-800's metal frame. As much as she hated to admit it, Reese had a point.  
Pop's suddenly pitched forward, causing the young woman to jump a foot in surprise. He was able to move on his own? In a moment she realized that it was not the T-800 that was moving but John who had begun dragging him by the foot.

"What are you doing?" Sarah spoke, voice raised in question.

Not saying anything, John kept walking, dragging the metal frame across the room.

"What are you doing? Stop!" The question had turned angry when she realized. By god, Pop's was still alive and John was going to destroy him. All fear gone, Sarah rushed forward, throwing herself into her son and trying to get him to release his grasp but the T-3000 kept moving. Remembering she had a weapon, the young woman whipped it out, leveling it at John and blocking his way. "I swear to god, I won't let you."

John regarded the young woman with a furrowed brow. "Sarah, don't waste your bullets." He reached forward with his free hand, gently lowering her gun. "Trust me on this."

Shaking her head, actual tears filled those large blue eyes. She kept the weapon lowered though, even when John stepped past her, taking the T-800 with him.

"John?" Kyle picked up his stride to fall in step with the man. "What are you doing?"

Again not speaking, the T-3000 reached the edge of a large crack in the ground that had filled with Polly alloy. Then, in a quick movement, he tossed the damaged terminator in.

Sarah and Kyle stepping up beside the resistance leader, all three staring into the glossy silver pool. Surprise leaving his expression, the soldier finally spoke. "…but…that won't destroy him…will it?"

Turning to look at Reese out of the corner of his eye, John gave his friend a tiny knowing smile.

Suddenly, a hand flew out of the liquid to grasp the cement side. Both human's jumped back in surprise, horror on their faces. Only John stood unphased, looking down at the emerging body.

Fear struck Sarah like a shaft of ice through her heart and thousands of thoughts ran through her head. The most prominent one being that John had led them here to be killed by a T-1000. But as the form climbed out of the pool, the shiny chrome quickly morphed into a familiar shape.

"Pops….?" The young woman whispered stunned, as the T-800's body finally finished taking form, the last of the silver changing into color.

"Sarah Connor." He barely finished the words before the young woman had flung herself into her protector's arms.

"I thought you were dead…" Sarah pressed her face into his false jacket.

"No." He reassured her, voice the same as it had always been. "Upgraded."

Trying to suck up the tears, Sarah couldn't help but continue babbling. "I was afraid…I thought…I…." She pulled away then, turning wide eyes to her son. John stood modestly by the silver pool still, the dim light making the sad smile on his face look even more forlorn.

"The polly alloy only needs a CPU to be programmed. I wasn't sure it would work…" His words mimicked his expression.

"And you didn't want to give false hope." Kyle finished for him.

"John Connor." Pop's turned his unwavering gaze at the man, sizing him up. At his initial scan and analysis his first reaction was to start a fight, considering the man's complete transition. Instead, he started a second analysis regarding his Sarah and everything that had happened. Sarah had called him off the attack, and according to recent events, he wouldn't be functioning if it weren't for the T-3000.  
"It was your initiative that upgraded me. You could have destroyed me, why didn't you?"

John leveled that same sad gaze at the upgraded T-800, a small smile tugging at his mouth. "Because someone needs to protect them when I'm gone."

Authors note:  
Phew. Took a few days of thought to get through this one. I think I know where I'm going now. We'll see how things go.

Also! My burning desire to write post judgement day wartime has been entirely sated by one of the best fics I've ever read. If you want John feels and just general good writing and terminator plot, go to Archive of our own and look up a fic called 'Across these days like deserts'. It's under the terminator (movies) Catagory. It's amaziiiing.

Another obligatory John/Kyle song because sharing music is great :P  
A secret calling by I Exist  
EMOTIONS

Wow I have a lot to say today. I don't know if anyone is interested but there's art for this fic. You can find it on my Deviantart account darkshadowolf or on my tumblr VijaThorn. (I'm a better artist than writer)


	26. Chapter 26

Stepping out of the helicopter before the blades had even stopped their powerful spinning; the older gentleman surveyed the scene. The damage was truly devastating. Most of the facility had been taken out, left in desolate heaps of steel and cement. The only upside of the entire situation was that so far, no one seemed to be hurt. Four security guards had been found unconscious and subdued but clear of the blast zone.

Emergency vehicles and people swarmed the area with flashing lights and the buzz of conversation. Only now were crews starting to be put together to actually venture into the wreckage. It was still early and no one could be sure what had caused the blast or if the remaining structures were even stable.

News vans had started arriving as well, getting as close to the police tape as possible before being ushered back.

He'd been called in because of Cyberdyne's connection with the military. There were already suspicions that this was a terrorist attack and not just an accident. That theory was almost completely proven correct at the discovery of the unconscious security personal.

But there was another reason he was here, stepping onto the scene in full uniform and an all business expression. He'd just been about to leave for home when they'd received a call about claiming a body. It was a strange enough call in itself to warrant being brought to his attention.  
A man had been murdered in cold blood while in police custody; someone that gave just enough of an aura of being a soldier that they'd thought he'd been military….someone who had connections to Cyberdyne. If that hadn't been strange enough, he had been sent the video file from the cell of the murder; a video file that had been impossible.

Not an hour later, he'd been informed that that body had went missing. And then a few hours after that Cyberdyne's facility had been blown sky high. Something about the entire situation wasn't right. He'd learned a long time ago to follow his gut, and this case was calling to him.

"General Brewster." He was greeted as he stepped into the maze of work crews and emergency vehicles. "We're glad you could join us, but we're not sure it was necessary." He recognized the man that spoke as the Superintendent himself.

"If there is a terrorist plot against Cyberdyne that it is definitely necessary. You are aware of our connections with Genisys and how important that it was going to be." Even though he didn't agree with the automated system, he didn't really have a say in the matter. But it was his job to get to the bottom of the issue and he would do just that. "What do we have?"

Deciding that cooperating was easier than an argument the Superintendent answered. "It's too early to say exactly what caused the blast. But it's pretty safe to say that it wasn't an accident." The two began walking towards the massive edge of the wreckage. Search lights had been set up so the crews could work in the dark. "So far the only possible witnesses we have are unconscious. They've been transported to the hospital and we'll be notified when they wake up."

"Any sign of the culprits yet?"

"Not that we've seen. We have a police watch but if I had to guess they're either long gone or dead. No one in the building could have survived. And if they remotely activated a bomb then chances are they've left."

Nodding, the general set a steely gaze across the wreckage. There was definitely something more going on. The murder at the station was connected to this somehow.

"General Brewster." Both men turned when a new voice addressed him. The newcomer was thin a thin man with a narrow face, his short brown hair dishevelled as if he'd crawled out of bed… or out of the explosion itself. He seemed calm enough, but there was anger brewing there, a tension in his shoulders.

"You're not supposed to be behind police lines." The superintendent was about to motion for an escort out but the general stopped him.

"It's ok. I know him." This was, after all, the man behind Genisys. One of Cyberdyne's highest ranking CEO's and their best coder. He'd been working with the military for years now, helping them revolutionize their technology and begin the steps to install Skynet. He may not agree with a lot of the man's ideals, but he certainly respected him and his work ethic.

"General." The Superintendent's words were curt as he eyed the two before nodding. "I'll keep you informed."

Nodding as the cop walked off, Brewster turned his full attention to the new comer. "Alex Major." He slapped the man on the shoulder, expression turning sympathetic. "I'm so sorry. I know how hard you worked on this."

Alex shook his head, crossing his arms as he set a steel gray gaze across the wreckage. "Genisys' core may have survived. If it did then we haven't lost everything." His voice mimicked his expression, calm but bordering on anger.

"We'll catch the ones that did this, I promise you. Not only do we have most of the police force on this, but my people as well." He turned to the man, but the other wouldn't meet his gaze. Frowning, General Brewster got that gut feeling again. There was something more going on here…. "You know something…don't you?"

Giving the general a sideways glance, Alex let out a breath. "Maybe."

"If it's something that can help us catch these people…" The general let the words hang in the air, waiting for the other to respond. "I know how much this project meant to you."

"We were working on something." The Cyberdyne CEO finally spoke. "An advanced AI, like Genisys would be."

General Brewster actually had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Major KNEW how much he hated the concept of artificial intelligence. It was probably why he was so reluctant to tell him. "How does it apply?" He ended up having to prompt.

"It was more advanced than Genisys, able to think and react entirely on its own. Our engineers created it a body, to see exactly how human it would react and what uses it could be. I knew it was probably a bad idea but I went along with it." The general already didn't like where this was going and he was proven right with the man's next words. "It escaped. We were trying to find it but it seemed the police did first. We…tried to eliminate the problem…"

"What..?" What Alex was insinuating was impossible. "Are you trying to tell me that the man who was arrested and murdered was your AI? No, that's impossible. Technology isn't advanced enough…"

"You know how advanced we are." He turned a silver gaze to the general, so piercing and calculating it made the man shiver. "If he survived our attempt to destroy him, he may have tried to exact revenge. His AI is incredibly intelligent."

"Why didn't you come forward with this before?" The general frowned, crossing his arms sceptically. The murder he'd witnessed in the cell was definitely strange. But it was the shooter that was unexplainable, not the victim. Then again…the body had gone mysteriously missing. "You could be charged on a lot of this…"

"I'm aware." Was the only response he got.

"You also understand that a lot of this is pretty unbelievable."

"Once we catch him, you'll be able to see the truth for yourself."

"And how do you propose we do that?" He wasn't sure how much truth there was to the story, but what reason would Alex have to lie? After all, a lot of this put him and his company at fault as it was.

"If we find somewhere quieter to talk, I can tell you exactly what we'll need."

"How many are there?" Sarah whispered.

The small group had managed to quietly traverse the wreckage towards the edge. So far they hadn't come across any emergency workers but there was definitely a commotion in the surrounding area.

"It is hard to tell." Pops spoke, voice quiet. "But I can say with certainty that the area is surrounded by sentries."

"Cops." John spoke then, consciously keeping a distance from the others. Knowledge and calculations flitted through his consciousness then, processing options and how hard it would be to get out. "I can stall them while you make a run for it. Pop's you would have to deal with any tail you pick up."

"I can."

"John, when are you going to get it through your head that I'm not going to leave you behind?" Kyle's words were angry and harsh as he set a narrow eyed glare at his friend. "The last time we did, you almost died…alone…in that jail cell." It still hurt him to think of the video feed from the news. He'd been so goddam close to losing his best friend and even the thought was like a knife twisting his heart. He'd already lost most of the people he cared about in his life. .

"Then how do you propose you get out of here?" John set that same tired and sad gaze he'd been wearing for an hour on Kyle. "We have one loaded weapon left and it's only a handgun against an army or police; police who will have us pegged as the culprits immediately and want to take us down." He shook his head. "I'm going to distract them. You're going to leave."

His words held a finality that Reese had trouble arguing with. He was right after all….like he'd been right leading the police chase away from them. Kyle hadn't felt so helpless; so useless, since the days before he'd met John. Right now he felt again like that trapped child, afraid and in the dark facing off against an enemy he had no chance against….until John swept in and saved him.

"Kyle…" The resistance leader's face softened. He wanted to step forward, clap the man on the shoulder, but he instead kept his distance. "I'm not…" He shook his head. Wrapping his head around the concept of his existence was still difficult. "I'm not human. They can't hurt me." Or at least he didn't think so. From what he'd seen of the T-5000's battle prowess and regenerative skill, he very much doubted anything could really deal him damage. He'd always been willing to take a bullet for the people he cared about. Difference was, now he could take a thousand and continue fighting.

It took a moment for the soldier to nod, doing his best to put on his game face.

"John…" It was Sarah who finally spoke. "Thank you…" She considered apologizing for her actions earlier but decided against it. She had been justified and even John knew it. But he still had her gratitude. He'd given her back Pops in a way she would never have thought of. She'd wondered briefly if that knowledge had come from John's experience with polly alloy, or skynet's through the phase matter. Either way, she supposed, it didn't really matter. It had worked.

The T-3000 smiled at her, sad but sincere. "Don't thank me until you get out of here in one piece."

Authors note:

Song of the day (Skynet vs John) - 30 seconds to mars - Edge of the Earth


	27. Chapter 27

Crouching behind one of the final barriers before the expanse of grass and police, John held up a hand for the others to stay put. Shuffling up beside him, Pops also set a critical gaze out in search of an escape route. The entire facility was fenced by lines of police tape, spread in between parked squad cars. Milling around more than one of those cars were cops.

Most of the commotion was taking place at what once was the front of the building. The backside of the facility had a wide field of grass before the ominous yet protective wall of buildings began. Once the little group hit the city blocks it would be easier to slip unnoticed into a hiding place.

Pop's would be able to make it, no problem, but for Kyle and Sarah it would be quite the mad dash.

"I'll draw their attention. When you have a clear path, go." He stepped out without even giving his parents a final glance. Letting them go was hard enough. And he was never one for long goodbyes…probably because he'd never had that luxury.

Stepping deliberately over the rubble and onto the grass, it only took a moment for the nearest cops to notice him. Just as they were stepping towards him and beginning their shouts, John froze up. It was that uneasy feeling again, the one that he couldn't quite grasp way down trapped in the bunker.

He could feel the consciousness brush across his, sending little electrical signals through his body, impulses and thoughts that weren't his own. Forgetting for a moment who and where he was, John's only desire was to shut down whatever it was he was feeling. Putting every available resource into finding the breech of his consciousness, the mission was nearly forgotten.

Watching transfixed, worry began growing in the pit of Kyle's stomach. At first he thought that it was a tactic, but now….something was definitely wrong. "John!?" It was a mix of a whisper and a shout. Kyle could see the cops approaching his friend, but it was like the man was frozen.

"Move!" It was Pop's that spoke then, pushed Kyle aside as a small group of police came upon their position. They had been planning to move on John from behind and had unwittingly stumbled across the rest of the group.

Grapping the closest cop's wrist, the T-800 actually ripped the gun right from his grasp before the man had entirely comprehended what was happened.

"Put it down! Don't move!" A second cop shouted, but Pops moved on him anyway.

Alerted to the situation, Sarah and Kyle had no choice but to step away from the scuffle which so happened to put them into view of the rest.

"You! Down on the ground! Don't move!" A few of the advancing police had turned their gazes from John to the pair who had just stepped out of hiding.

"Shit." Kyle's mind raced, his gaze flitting from the cops to John, who was still frozen despite the threats thrown at him. His handgun only had five shots left and even if he made every single one, there would still be about seven armed and dangerous enemies.

"Do we stand down?" Sarah whispered in Kyle's ear before a loud shot rang out behind them. Pop's had leveled the entire group of cops but not before one had fired. This only riled the remaining up even more.

Seeing the gun in Kyle's hand, the nearest man shouted even louder for him to drop the weapon. Reese eyed then cop, still undecided on how to proceed. This wasn't like dealing with terminators. These were humans; people only doing their jobs.

Hearing Pops behind him, Reese turned slightly to send a quick glance at the terminator. Unfortunately, the quick move was too startling for the rookie cop eyeing them down. A loud shot went off then, coupled a moment later with searing pain through Kyle's hip. Dropping to one knee with a startled cry of pain, the soldier grit his teeth, hand clutching the wound. It wasn't just a graze, but it wasn't critical either.

The shooter was young, a cop that must have been put on watch duty because of inexperience. His hands shook slightly, but he kept his gun raised towards Kyle and Sarah. "Drop the weapon-" He didn't even finish his sentence before his gun was wrenched from his hands.

Moving with speed and agility that no human could possess, John send the man slamming to the ground with a groan before raising the gun towards him. In almost the same fluid movement, he pulled the trigger.

Stunned into silence, the shock of what Kyle had just witnessed nearly overrode the searing pain from the gunshot wound. Sarah was the one to cry out.

Turning to look at them them, John's expression mimicked the one that he'd worn during his attack on Reese. There was something inhuman about that look, almost feral. And again, while his parents watched, that expression faded to one of horror and anguish. Glancing back down at the young man, he knew immediately that he'd killed him. His shot had been true, almost calculated. He knew immediately the wide eyes fearful look on the cops face would haunt him. The moment only stretched on a second more before the also stunned police open fired.

The gun dropped from John's hand as the force of the connecting bullets drove him back more than one step. He hadn't really felt the shot from Sarah earlier, but he definitely felt these; and he deserved every one of them. When the final shots quieted, the resistance leader stood, slouched over while his body processed the damage. It was a pain different than when he was human. It was like tiny electric charges sent from the phase matter to his consciousness telling him that something was wrong; that his body was damaged. After a moment, the phase matter repaired the damage in a shocking matter of seconds.

Rising to stand tall again, John set a stern gaze on the rest of the cops who only gaped at him, faces a mix of terror and horror. Taking a step forward then only resulted in a second barrage of bullets with a similar effect. Doubled over once more, the military leader accepted and embraced every ounce of pain and discomfort that those shots gave him. Like any computer telling a program to shut down, he knew he could do the same to the sensation. But it was the repayment that he deserved and then some.

He'd just _killed_ someone. He shot down an innocent man, no a _kid_ , without even realizing it until it was too late. Something had interfered with his thought process, damaged his control. But that was the very fear that overwhelmed him down in the bunker, and again now. It hurt… made him want to be sick. He was supposed to be the protector of humanity; the saviour. And now Skynet had made him a murderer. He knew he couldn't dwell on it though, not now at least….he had to get Kyle and Sarah out. He couldn't afford to break down.

Again repairing the damage in record time, John rose to his full height once more.

And then he moved.

Fully in control this time, he connected with the first man, slamming the gun out of his hand before sending him flying to the ground. He was able to take out a second cop before another bullet connected with him, doing very little damage. Across the way, Pop's was now moving in a similar fashion.

After a moment, the remaining conscious cops were in fully retreat, radioing in for backup.

John knew then that any retreat didn't have much time.

Turning finally, John's heart fluttered when his gaze fell on Sarah and Kyle. He knew that it was just his body remembering the reactions from when it was human but damn…it made his chest tighten. Reese's expression held betrayal, mouth hanging slightly open and anguish on his face. If John didn't know better, Kyle was looking at him like he had shot him himself.  
Sarah was wearing a similar expression, except it was laced with anger and distrust.

"You killed him…" Kyle's words were whispered, but John caught them anyway. This was the first moment the soldier had actually considered that his John may not entirely be his John anymore. The entire revelation had stunned him to the core, numbing the pain and even his thoughts. The great John Connor would never hill another human. Even those criminals during the war weren't met with death. They were meant to protect people…not….

Shoulders dropping, John couldn't seem muster a reply. Thankfully, Pop's broke the silence. "We only have a small window of time before police reinforcements arrive. We must go now."

Taking the gun from where Pop's had dropped it, Sarah helped Reese to his feet with one arm before raising the gun at John with her other. It was pointless considering the number of bullet's she'd watched him just shrug off, but it was the gesture itself that hurt more than any bullet could.

"You stay away from us." Sarah grit out, passing the job of holding up the still shocked Reese to Pops. Taking the soldiers arm, the T-800 took the majority of the soldier's weight before the three began moving.

Watching them go without a word in his own defense, John tried then to put the focus back on the mission. With Kyle injured, it would take them even longer to get across that field.

Hearing a distant sound, John's turned sharp eyes to his right. Sure enough, a small army of vehicles were rounding the corner of the wreckage, more than one siren blaring. Getting used to the speed and agility now at his disposal, John sprinted towards the remaining cops who'd ducked inside their cars and called for backup. Actually ripping the door completely off its hinges in a move that startled even him, he looked down at the terrified man who stared up at him.

"Get out and leave." He spoke calmly to which the man obliged, as did his partner in the passenger seat, all the while staring at the array of bullet holes that were decorating John's shirt and jacket.  
Seeing what had just happened, the cops in the second car hit the gas, tearing towards the line of cars in the form of backup. This way his retreating parents would be the last thing on their mind.

Glancing up, the resistance leader could still see the trio across the field. They were a little more than half way to cover. He just had to keep the attention on him for a little while longer. Making a snap decision, he began sprinting towards the approaching line of cars.

Moving faster than he ever thought possible, they came upon each other very quickly. Except instead of colliding with the vehicles, he ran between them, dodging and spinning on his feet to keep his momentum. Now behind him, he could hear the first cars in the line start to skid out on the grass, desperate to turn around.

Watching the wide and shocked eyes of the men behind the wheels, John nearly made it completely through the line of cars before his gaze fell on a familiar face. Losing concentration in his shock, the resistance leader mis-stepped, slamming into the front of a still moving police car that spun him painfully to skid nearly 30 feet to the ground. By the time he shook off the blow and his body recovered, the line of vehicles had almost entirely surrounded him.

The man john had recognized stared out from the passenger seat of a police van with disbelief written across his features. It was impossible….but this was definitely the murder victim from the cell, no one could mistake that scarred face. Swallowing his shock, General Brewster cautiously stepped out of the van, as were the rest of the police. He'd seen this man take a full clip right through the chest…and just now he'd seen him sprint at full speed through a police line with almost no difficulties, get slammed into with almost no damage, and now rise to his feet seemingly unharmed….If one could call a shift full of bullet holes unharmed.

"Perhaps you were telling the truth." Brewster directed his words to the other sitting in the back of the police van, leaning forward to gaze out the front window. "Tell me that your plan will take him down."

"He's strong, and fast. But's his body is an incomplete design. It should work." The Cyberdyne CEO spoke, words quick and angry.

Holding an arm up to shield his eyes from the blinding headlights of the circle of cars, John turned, once and then again trying to discern an exit before a voice shouted. Cops were approaching him cautiously, weapons raised and he couldn't yet decide if he should fight. "Get down on the ground, slowly!"

Thoughts racing, he tried to calculate the odds that his family had made it to cover. He'd already made himself the biggest threat, so even if someone had been sent in pursuit, Pops could handle the situation.

"Surrender or we will be forced to use measures against you!" The voice that spoke those words nearly caused John to blanch. He'd thought he'd been seeing things, a trick of his mind, or an error in his sight. But that voice…definitely belonged to General Brewster. The rush of emotion that was brought by the familiar presence wasn't expected and almost brought him to his knees.

What actually did bring him to his knees was the sudden and unexpected surge of electricity hitting him in the back. Crying out, his thought process was suddenly scrambled. The electricity moved with the phase matter, amplified by the metal and shorting out his systems. Error messages began reading to his consciousness as if it was something that he could repair. Flailing backwards slightly to try and stop the current from the modified stun gun, a second current hit him in the chest.

Like a computer, the electrical surge was shutting down his body in a move to try and preserve function. Fighting the reaction, John suddenly felt that presence again, remotely assisting the shut-down. Still on his knees, John's flickering vision actually managed to catch the piercing silver gaze glaring out at him from within a police van.

With a voice that sounded more like a glitching arcade game than a human, he managed to grit out a final word before his body shut down to stand-by. "Sky…net…."


	28. Chapter 28

He dreamed.

Rationally, dreams would be impossible to him as a T-3000. Mostly they were just memories, replaying in his mind like a screensaver on a stand-by computer. But they might as well have been dreams to the ghost of his humanity filed and imprinted into the machine.

He dreamed of her.

John hadn't thought about that part of his past in a long time. The reappearance of General Brewster must have jogged the now filed away experiences of his past into the forefront of his subconscious mind. He'd long ago suppressed those memories, because for the amount of joy they brought him, the pain of the loss hurt him even more.

John was viewing the scenes from the eyes of his past self, but at the same time watching them as if from afar. Whatever his human mind had let fade over time had now been repaired, remastered thanks to the phase matter in crystal clarity.

How could he have ever let the memory of her fade?

Her face was gaunt with fatigue and malnutrition as his had been back then, but it still held a feminine beauty. Her sharp hazel eyes held that same hard and weathered age that anyone who'd survived the war had all except for when she looked at him. Whenever he stepped into the room they seemed to soften, the tension in her shoulders seeming to leave just slightly.

There was no official title for what they had been. People had called them married, but in that time there had been nothing so formal. What she _had_ been was his closest friend; his confidant and the only person in the world who he'd let see the man under the leader. Around her he could step with less confidence, walk with shoulders not squared and drop the entire façade of unbending strength.

In her ear he'd whispered things that no one else knew, about the war and what was to come. She had been the only one who had known even half the knowledge his mother had bestowed on him. And also the only one who truly knew the toll it took on him. She'd been the perfect partner, listening to every spilled insecurity and fear with compassion and any advice due.

But being John Connor hadn't lent him much time to himself, nor to spend with her. And being Kate Brewster was a job similar.

If he wasn't in the small and cramped command room of their current bunker at the time, he was out on missions for days, even weeks at a time. The two had vowed early on in whatever they had become never to say goodbye. Because saying goodbye meant that he may never come back. As much as he knew of the future, he knew that that future was never set. His fate was what he would make of it, and at any point a wrong move, a wrong decision would see him gunned down. He knew that well, as did she.

This…what he was seeing, as his mind was stuck in a strange purgatory with a body shut down to basic functions, was the last time he'd ever seen her.

There hadn't been much room for privacy in the cramped and underground bunker, but being John Connor awarded that luxury. He had just dressed, still in a state of permanent exhausted as he always had been to prepare himself for the day. By the soft glow of the light, she had stepped up to him, buckling the straps of his body armor with the delicate hands of a surgeon.

She hadn't said anything, only smiled and nodded, reassuring him that she'd be ok and he'd succeed. That she believed in him as the man and not just the leader. Where he was the pillar of strength that the resistance stood, she had been his. He had leaned forward and kissed the top of her head, her red locks glinting in the dim light. And then he had turned and left.

Never could he have imagined that the person who would not survive the next few days would be her.

Their base at the time had been close to Topeka with most of his forces moving on a work camp nearby. He'd known he'd been pushing his luck staying in one place for so long but the work camp had been a pressing issue. They had a very short window of time to liberate it before Skynet decided to terminate its prisoners. If they moved camp before that, that window would be lost. Kate had like always, stayed behind, preparing the bunker for the arrival of injured, soldiers and civilians alike.

His small caravan had been not even 100 miles out from the bunker to meet up with the force that would take the camp when the bomb fell. It had been so surreal. He remembered watching the fiery blast with shock for minutes before the realization dawned on him that it's ground zero had been the bunker.

Those 25 soldiers in his unit that day were probably the very few who ever saw john Connor vulnerable.

Forcing the jeep they'd been driving to a stop, he had stumbled onto the gray and cold ground before dropping to his knees and letting out an anguished scream. The blast had been far enough away for the small group not to feel any of the shock waves, all except for John. He felt every one of them.

Remembering where and who he was, he tried so hard not to break down. Thankfully, the soldiers with him had given enough time to collect himself. All of them had known Kate, and all of them had known what she'd meant to John. It was easy for them to understand his loss. After all, everyone during that time had felt the same biting pain that losing a loved one brought. Why would John Connor be exempt from that feeling?

John never had a chance to mourn more than the few minutes, slouched on the ground after the bomb had been dropped. He had gotten back to his feet, and when he turned to face his soldiers his expression was hard, all business and ready for action. There was something different in his eyes though, something cold that had never been there before…and distant.

The next day the resistance had waged their battle of the work camp and succeeded, as Kate had believed they would. Everyone had cheered, clapping him on the back, but any joy the victory might have brought was gone.

Angry in that moment, John quietly and politely excused himself. He had needed a moment alone, a moment to let the face drop and to stop pretending he was ok. Because John Connor had to be ok. He had to be the leader, the victor.

Not allowing an escort, he'd ventured off into the ruins of the city, quickly finding and bringing down the final sentries that had been posted to the work camp. Breathing hard finally the danger began to outweigh his emotion. But just as he was about to turn back, he'd spotted a terminator. At the time it wasn't as advanced as the T-800 model that he knew as a child. But it still posed a threat. Staying in the shadows, he tracked it, waiting for the perfect time to strike. It was only after a few minutes of following the thing did he realize it was tracking something itself…or someone.

Repurposing his anger, he sharpened his focus. Finally his perfect moment to strike came when the T unit had ducked into a hollow pipe system. Running bent low towards the closest above ground entrance to him, he hooked his line on the edge and jumped through. Thinking back on the move, he knew how stupid it had been but grief had been clouding his mind at the time. Repelling down he had taken out the terminator easily.

Feet impacting hard on the ground, he eyed the machine corpse for a moment before turning. And for the first time in his life, he had laid his eyes upon Kyle Reese. To him, the small dirty face was just one of a child. But the still young Kyle had given him purpose, taken his mind from his grief and given him something to focus on.

And as the days and weeks passed, during their travel to the closest base to the area, John kept pretending he was ok, forcing himself to forget. But he never really did forget. All he ended up accomplishing was locking away those memories and the feelings that came with them.

Kyle never knew any of it, even when he became John'ssecond in command replacing Kate in the title. Or at least he never told the young man any of it. He couldn't be sure what Reese had heard. Rumors ran rampant in the bunkers they stayed in, John Connor being one of the most popular topics.

But even with how close he was to Reese, he'd never been able to truly let him in. He told himself that he couldn't tell Kyle the future, justifying it by who he would be. But deep down he was afraid. Afraid of the pain that would come with letting someone get that close. Anyone close to him became a target. And to save himself the agony of another loss, he kept Kyle at arm's reach, barely speaking of himself or his past. All except for Sarah.

The memories like painful movies suddenly faded then and were filed back in storage, his screensaver flicking off.

Waiting, John listened to his body, mind racing along with the nano matter as it ran diagnostics and tried to achieve a systems restore. As his body slowly rebooted the majority of its functions that were not just basic, the sensations started to register.

He was in pain, or at least the phase matter was shooting constant errors at him. But he didn't need them to tell him that. He could fell it, the constant tug and press of something heavy. Something disrupting the phase matters ability to cohere. As if flicking a switch, he rerouted extra functions to try and assist with keeping shape and fighting the disruption but it burnt a lot of power and energy that might be used for something else.

Opening his eyes finally, the lights nearly blinded him. Snapping them shut, he tried to move but found he couldn't. John didn't need vision to recognize exactly what was going on. His body was being held down by a strong magnetic pull, originating but not exclusive to the thick steel devices that were wrapped around his arms, chest and legs before being bolted to the wall behind him.

In a nervous tick, he swallowed before adjusting the receptors of his eyes to light before opening them again. The first and only sight that came into focus made his fists clench in fury. Standing across the room and behind a pane of glass with a smug look on his face, was Skynet.

Authors notes:  
This isn't foreshadowing, I don't know what you're talking about... :P


	29. Chapter 29

"You thought you actually succeeded, didn't you?" Skynet opened the com to the lab from where he stood in the viewing room, smug smile never leaving his face. He revelled in every angry look and flash of pain and discomfort crossing John's face. Rationally and logically, taking pleasure in this was pointless and tactically irrelevant. But still he couldn't shake the feeling; those racing thoughts that heated his systems and made him start running scenarios through his mind on every single possible way he wanted to take apart John Connor. It had been a tactical error trying to convert the resistance leader without 100 percent success with the trials. He'd rued the day he ever allowed the man to live.  
The last time he'd captured the resistance leader he'd been all logic and efficiency. But now things were different.…seeing John struggle in the restraints at his complete mercy gave the AI a strange form of satisfaction.

"We leveled Cyberdyne." There was something in Skynet's words and expression that took the confidence out of John's words.

"And yet, you stopped nothing. You have only delayed the inevitable." Skynet's smile only widened at the look of pain that crossed John's face. "Judgement day will happen. Your efforts have always been valiant but in the end pointless."

The discomfort of the magnetic pull coupled with his greatest fear coming true made the resistance leader want to scream in rage and anguish. The only thing that would have eased the horror of the situation was that they'd succeeded. But now….He should have known that the blast wouldn't reach the core. He should have accounted for it. With the processing speed his mind had now, he could think of hundreds of possible scenarios that would have earned them victory. Except it was too late.

The tension in his body that the anger caused faded quickly. He didn't have enough power reserved to sustain it. Most of his energy was going to keeping the nanites from gathering around the magnetic pull of the restraints. He'd put a routine in place so he wouldn't have to concentrate on keeping the phase matter in check but even then, it didn't entirly stop the nanites from breaking away from their shape. The entire process left him haggard…. And exhausted; tired in a way only a T-3000 could be.

Hands unclenching, he slumped in the restraints. "So you're here to gloat? I didn't think you were the type." The defeat registered clear in his voice. Skynet had taken almost everything from him. First it had killed his mother, and then Kate; then it had thwarted his victory in 2029. It had even taken his very humanity from him, made him betray the very morals he'd lived by and turned him into a murderer. Lastly, he feared that it had even taken Sarah and Kyle from him, considering their expressions in last moments he'd seen the two.

"Yes." Skynet took a step towards the glass, folding his hands behind his back. "It took me years, but I finally learned what I needed to defeat you. I needed to evolve, think like you. You see, I don't need you anymore, John Connor." He eyed the resistance leader to let the words sink in before continuing.  
"Or..…you could always join me. Judgment day was the only logical way to ensure my own survival. But it doesn't necessarily have to happen. You and I…we can advance Genisys into power, protect it. Why destroy when we could use these people to our advantage. You could finally save your pathetic human race. The victory you've always desired."

John couldn't help the anger that tore through him again. The worst part about it was that he was actually tempted by the offer for a moment…maybe more than a moment. "At what cost?" He finally bit out. "It would become a world still ruled by you, at your mercy. Who would be your army of slaves then? Humans?" He snarled but quickly lost steam, slumping in the restraints once more. "No…Never."

Skynet actually laughed at that, drawing John's tired gaze. "I was offering out of mere curtesy. You and I…we've been fighting for a long time. Mathematically it was improbable that you got as far as you did, succeeded against me and survived for so long. But the truth is…"

The AI raised a hand and peered at John with those intense gray eyes before tapping a finger once…twice…three times against the glass. With every impact John's heart jumped in his chest as if on cue. No…not as if. One cue…Skynet's cue. The resistance leader made a strangled choking sound before gasping out a string of short and panicked words. "You're…." It was that uneasy feel from back at Cyberdyne all over again but amplified. "…it was you…You made me kill that kid…you…." Once again John felt like he was going to be sick. This was a nightmare…this was literally his worst nightmare.

"No…" The AI's eyes glinted silver in the light. "That was you. I merely gave my original programming within your phase matter a little nudge." He let out a short laugh before continuing. "You see…with enough effort I could probably force that programming. I already have an uplink into your system."

The horror and pain on John's face brought the AI great joy so he continued. "But like I said, I don't need you anymore. So instead I'm going to take great pleasure in destroying you."

Horrified and not even caring to raise his gaze towards the AI, John stared blankly at the floor. It was over.

...

"We need to go back…" The soldier's words were slurred with pain and loss of blood as Sarah pressed his jacket against the bullet wound. They'd managed to get into the city streets with only one pursuer that was dealt with quickly enough. It hadn't taken long after that for Pop's to commandeer them a car which he was now driving. Sarah was bent over Kyle in the back seat, trying to keep him from moving.

"I know how you feel about him, Kyle, but he can take care of himself." He'd taken care of that cop pretty good anyway. She'd never forget the look on his face when he'd turned to them. It wasn't human…and it terrified her. "They can't even hurt him, he'll be fine."

"Can't leave him behind…he's still John…We can't…" Kyle lifted his head from the seat to peer up to where Sarah was pressing her hands against his hip. It wasn't a terrible wound, but the young woman couldn't manage to stop the bleeding. Not in the moving car with no first aid kit anyway. His head then thumped against the seat again, thoughts sluggishly moving through the haze.  
It had shocked Kyle to the core when John had shot that cop. That moment made him rethink his entire view of his friend. He'd always thought the man morally infallible…and despite how close they were he supposed he viewed John Connor as everyone else did. He was his hero. And now Skynet had corrupted that.  
He firmly believed though that John could overcome it. He was strong. He could and would fight what Skynet wanted him to become. Kyle believed it. He HAD to believe it.

But none of that mattered if he was taken down…or captured again. They couldn't allow it…they had to…had to…

Reese's eyes slipped shut in a pain and panic induced fatigue. It only took a moment more for his consciousness to drift off.

"You stupid, brave, idiot…" Sarah sighed in frustration. Reese couldn't seem to see what was right in front of him. John may still be John. But he was also Skynet's creation, and whatever humanity and control he had was slipping. What if in the next panicked moment of battle that gun was aimed ather? Or at Kyle?

The thought of the soldier dying actually made her breath hitch for a moment. Pressing the fabric on the wound, she looked down at his now calm face. He was so frustrating and loyal to a fault….but she had this little part inside of her that was growing fond of him; maybe more than just fond.

There hadn't really been any time to think about her feelings in the last few days. She had shoved them aside; ignoring every little thump of her heart when he brushed against her arm or looked her in the eye. She was still undecided on if she even wanted to pursue that path…let fate play out. Even though the terminator she knew killed him in the original timeline was gone…she was still scared that the actual act of them being together was the kickstart to his demise.

"Pop's, we have to get somewhere I can patch him up." Sarah glanced up at the T-800 who nodded.

"Affirmative."

Sarah was almost tempted to tell her protector to head back to John's apartment but the thought of him being there scared her. A sudden ringing caused the young woman to jump. Eyes darting around, she finally zero'd in on the sound in her own pocket. O'Brian had handed her the device back before the raid on Cyberdyne and after all of the action she'd forgotten she'd even had it.

Peering at the cracked screen she wondered briefly if it was the resistance leader himself phoning since the number was blocked. Weighing her options, she decided to hit accept. Bringing the phone to her ear, she didn't say anything, ready to hit end at any minute. But then a familiar voice spoke. "Hello? John?"

"No." She answered. "You're the one from earlier. The cop."

"Lieutenant." The man answered. "We didn't think you made it out. That explosion was way bigger than we expected."

"Get to the point." Sarah didn't have time for this. Nor did Kyle.

"So far, no one's connected me to the incident. As far as anyone knows I was at home all night. O'Brian on the other hand is in far more trouble."

"He with you? Put him on the line." The lieutenant she didn't trust. O'Brian…she was getting there. He'd certainly proven himself to their cause back at Cyberdyne. It was a relief when his voice came on the line.

"Sarah."

"Where are you?"

"I'm with Grant at his apartment for now. It won't be long before I'm wanted though. Where are you?"

The young woman bit her lip for a moment, looking down at the soldier and then up at Pops. She hated bringing people in on things like this….but they needed somewhere, considering both their bunker and John's apartment were compromised. "We're driving. Kyle's been shot. I need help."

"Holy-" O'Brians voice became muffled and distant as he had a quick murmuring conversation with Grant. It was only a minute before he came back on the line and listed off the lieutenant's address. "It'll be safe for now. And Sarah?"

"Yeah."

"I'm assuming that since we drove your vehicle away…that the one you're in now is stolen. Ditch it before you get here." Once a detective always a detective it seemed.

…  
Author's notes:  
This one was rough to write. Only 1800 and it took me like 4 hours. Well I mean, technically I wrote it twice. I have an entire different chapter 29 that I'm not sure what to do with now because I didn't really like it all that much. I'll probably incorporate some of it into the next chapter.

Also. Feels song of the day is Jamie Scott – Unbreakable. It's a Kyle/Sarah song. I don't know if I'm just being overly emotional but the first time I heard it I cried.


	30. Chapter 30

Letting himself into the observation room that was sidled up to the lab back in the military's complex, General Brewster stepped up to the window. This was the first time he actually laid eyes on the contraption they had stuck the AI in. In fact, this was the first time he'd seen the AI since the day previous. After the long and exhausting day followed closely by the explosion and an equally long night, Brewster had went home for the majority of the hard work.

The job that he'd phoned into the tech department only 36 hours ago seemed like an almost impossible task. Yet the three engineers on call had accepted the parameters with excitement as a new puzzle to figure out. They had very little time to create some sort of device that would restrain a machine of considerable strength using mostly magnetic fields.

Using the military's vast resources, the tech's had tackled the project with enthusiasm….that was quickly diminished when Alex Major had arrived on the scene. The Cyberdyne CEO was widely hated among the engineer world, not only because of his incredible breakthrough's in the world of computer technology and engineering, but because of his goddamn condescending and high and mighty attitude.  
Despite all of their grumbling however, the military's engineers hadn't even considered some of the designs that Major concocted for them. And sure enough, within 24 hours they had managed to create a crude but functioning device.

Meanwhile John Connor had been kept sedated with regular and high amount of electricity. The entire process had made General Brewster uneasy. The AI not only appeared almost completely human but he had acted it as well. Had he not witnessed what he did out by the wreckage he wouldn't believe it. He couldn't help but feel like this was somehow morally wrong though…cruel in some way. But if this AI had indeed caused the blast, and that was what it looked like happened, then he was at fault for billions of dollars in damage. Not only that but they'd learned soon after they'd captured him that he'd murdered a cop. Or he supposed 'it'. This thing wasn't human; it was a machine, a program.

Looking at him now, the general was having a hard time associating the term 'machine' with their prisoner. This being the closest look he'd gotten at the AI, the general frowned, studying him. He appeared to be asleep…or the equivalent of sleep to a machine, eyes closed and head hanging forward onto his chest. Age wise he appeared to be about forty, with gray glinting in the curly brown of his hair. Deep groves lined one side of his face in the form of nasty scars, and the General found himself wondering if it was intentional or if something had happened during its creation.

Pursing his lips, he tried his best to shove away that little voice in the back of his head that something wasn't right. Failing in that attempt, he instead hit the button to open the com between rooms. The slight pop and sound distortion of the com coming online seemed to rouse the AI.

John had spent the hours after Skynet had left plagued with thousands of horrified thoughts. He'd even at one point tried to slip the restraints, but any attempt to move only agitated the phase matter against the magnetic pull and produced error messages. Hopeless and defeated, the resistance leader had ended up powering down if only to stop the constant racing thoughts. He'd set up a protocol that would bring him out of standby at any immediate sound.

It was that pop of the com that ended up restarting his systems. Once conscious thought returned to his body, John quickly decided that being awake may actually be preferable to being in standby. As soon as he'd shut down all but his basic systems, that damned screensaver had activated again. For the past few hours, John had been thrown back into the war, reliving old memories in vivid HD. Bad memories…ones he wished he hadn't lived through the first time, not to mention a second.

Coming back online was almost a relief to the man until he realized that it was a sound that had roused him. And sound meant that it was probably Skynet back to begin whatever nefarious plot it had. Waiting for the final systems to boot up, John let his eyes slip open. The somber expression he wore quickly turned to one of surprise when his keen gaze fell on the man behind the glass.

"General Brewster…" His words were quiet, mostly spoken out of shock then greeting.

At the mention of his name, the General's expression quickly mirrored the one on John's face. "You know who I am? How?"

A frown creased john's brow as he turned his eyes down. General Brewster had been one of his greatest allies during the war. But going by what had happened in the last few days, it was safe to assume that he was now one of Skynets assets. He would be stupid to start regaling his story to the man. One of the only upsides to this was how well he knew Robert Brewster. The man was as sharp as a tack with a gut instinct that John had actually started relying on during the war. By giving the man enough incentive and doubt he may be able to sway him. But then again, that all depended on how deep Skynet had dug its claws in.

"Considering all of the unexplainable things about this situation, the fact that I know you is what surprises you?" John chose the phrasing carefully, being deliberately mysterious. He watched the surprise return to Brewsters face.

The general hadn't expected anything close to that response. He had been expecting something robotic…generic and efficient, as software normally was. That sounded way too human for his liking. "You didn't answer me." He was beginning to get unnerved and the feeling came through in his voice.

"No. I didn't." John levelled an intense gaze on the man. "Because whatever answers that I give you will contradict whatever you think you know about me." If he scared Brewster away, it could possibly drive him closer to Skynet.

Brewster just stared at John for a moment, brows furrowed. "What do you mean?" This wasn't a typical AI. This was far to advanced. Not only was it showing what appeared to be emotion, but its thinking capacity was far beyond any technology he knew existed.

"There's a man. You would know him as part of Cyberdyne….He would have been involved in my capture…." John trailed off, watching Robert carefully. Sure enough, clear recognition flickered across his face.

"Alex Major." General Brewster furrowed his brow even more. Why didn't the AI just name the man? He was after all, a major player in its creation, wasn't he? "What does he have to do with this."

"You can't tell me that there's nothing that seems off to you." Again, the T-3000 chose his words carefully, baiting the man. "Trust that feeling in your gut, the one that tells you something is wrong."

Robert Brewster could only stare at the AI, expression a mix of both shock and surprise. It couldn't have just been a coincidence that the AI was telling this to him of all people. The absurd notion that it could read his mind crossed his thoughts but he ignored it. "How…"

"Did I know about that gut feeling? The same way I know about Skynet, and how uneasy you are about it going online. The same way I know the core survived."

"That's…. classified…." The general sputtered, thoughts racing in shock. This was all impossible. Everything he thought he knew about the situation was changing. He kept asking questions that were answered in ways that only provided more. He'd at first assumed that the AI had tapped into Cyberdyne's systems, downloading information from its database and perhaps even from the internet. But now it was telling him things impossible to learn from either source. The title 'Skynet' hadn't even been approved or announced yet. "How do you know all of this?"

John shook his head, lowering his gaze again. "What do you know about me?"

Again. Again, the AI answered his question with another question. It was infuriating. But he couldn't help but play along for curiosities sake. "You're an AI, created by Cyberdyne. When you went rogue and escaped they tried to terminate you. When that failed you destroyed the entire facility for revenge."

"Ask yourself," John met the Generals gaze again, blue eyes intense. "Who told you that?"

Robert didn't answer. Instead he looked away, expression pensive as he mulled over the facts. "You're telling me that Major is lying…." He concluded finally which was answered by a small nod.

"If an AI went rogue it would be thinking of self-preservation. But the very act of revenge is brought by an emotional response, which would be impossible for an AI, right?"

Frowning again, the general eyed the AI. He'd seen an array of emotions from it already. He didn't want to believe that they could be genuine though, only put on to seem more human, perhaps? "Then blowing Cyberdyne is an act of self-preservation in itself, to stop any more attempts on your existence."

"Why would I run towards your police convoy then? Why would an AI purposely put its existence on the line? If the act of destroying Cyberdynes facility was one of self-preservation, why would an AI endanger itself? So either we have an emotional act of revenge…or something completely irrational and against an AI's basic programming."

"It wouldn't make sense." The general wasn't catching on until his prisoners face tugged into a small smile.

"It wouldn't. Not for an AI."

Finally getting it, General Brewster began shaking his head. Rationally it was impossible what the other was suggesting…but…"You're not an AI." He whispered, still trying to think of a different explanation. A sad smile flickered across John's face then. So the Robert Brewster he knew still existed, sharp as ever. "But…that's impossible. Why would Major lie…" To cover up something Cyberdyne was working on? Was it this…man? Something to do with him? Was it so bad that their creation had taken initiative to take out the entire facility?

"That's the question, isn't it?" Again, the resistance leader answered with another question. Rob didn't need to be sucked in anymore. But there was still a fear that if he gave to much information away, he would put a possible ally and friend's life in danger. "Please…do me a favor and be careful, Rob."

The use of his first name made the general's eyes snap up to meet John's. "I know how smart you are but I don't think we have much time. Something bad is going to happen, soon. We stopped it once, but now that I'm here I can't do it again. You'll figure it out soon enough, when you do, go to the police and ask for Grant, tell him that John Connor sent you."

Listening to the other only posed more questions, but somehow Robert knew none of them would be answered. The cryptic way the other was speaking was infuriating. And the things he was insinuating…against the brilliant and powerful Cyberdyne CEO were dangerous. But still, the conversation he had just now shone more light on the situation than anything Major had said. It shone an impossible light…but then again, the very existence of this person was impossible.  
"I'm assuming that….John Connor….that's you?"

The other only gave him that same sad smile. It was a strange experience, speaking to Robert Brewster like this. He'd known the man well, trusted him, respected him; he could go for far as to call them friends. Yet the other didn't recognize him…didn't remember him; didn't know him. He couldn't help but feel hurt about that fact…as if Brewster had made a conscious decision to forget….tch.

But even hurt… this was the first time since he'd been captured that John had actually felt hope.

Author's note:  
Major Lazer - Be Together (feat. Wild Belle) (Vanic Remix) – This is all the foreshadowing I will give for now.


	31. Chapter 31

Sitting alone in his office, General Brewster leaned over his desk, eyes fixed on the computer screen but not focusing on it. Instead, his mind was racing with the conversation he'd just had with their prisoner. The AI that was not an AI, John Connor… There were so many unanswered questions.

"General."

If he wasn't an AI, what was he? His body was a machine, which was obvious enough with how it reacted to the magnetic device. But how human was he? Rob was sure he'd seen something close to pain flicker across the man's face. It made him question how morally right keeping Connor prisoner in that device was.

"General." Startled, Brewster jumped slightly, finally realizing someone stood in the doorway, knuckles raised against the frame to knock. "You seem distracted, sorry for interrupting."

Making sure to keep his expression passive, the General set his gaze on Major. "I was just thinking." He'd considered going to the Cyberdyne CEO after his conversation with John, confronting him about the whole thing….except something Connor had aid still rung in his ears. _'Please, do me a favor and be careful, Rob.'_ It had been the only thing he'd said that was completely honest and wasn't carefully guarded. John was afraid…afraid of something. Someone….was it Major? That wouldn't surprise him; the man had always seemed off. "What is it that I can do for you?"

"I heard you went and saw the AI. What did you think?" The two sized each other up, both keeping their expressions completely neutral.

"I'm impressed you were able to complete something to hold him in such a short amount of time." Brewster motioned for the man to enter his office. As of right now, Alex was completely oblivious that he might be onto him. He could use this to his advantage. "Are you sure it's going to hold him?"

Stepping into the office, the Cyberdyne CEO looked clearly offended at the question. "Of course it will, I was behind the designs. His body is made entirely of nanites. It would be an effort for him to bend the steel that we've used as restraints, but coupled with the magnetic pull it will be impossible."

"I didn't think that technology was so advanced." Alex obviously knew a lot about Connor, what made him tick and how to keep him detained. Was he some Cyberdyne experiment gone horrible wrong? "Even for you."

"It wasn't supposed to become public knowledge for years, I assure you. It was supposed to be a prototype. This whole thing was….unfortunate." Alex had already predicted any questions that the general may ask and created acceptable answers for all of them. He didn't need to keep his cover for much longer.  
After that news that the Genisys core had survived reached the military, a brief and emotional group call with Danny Dyson and the rest of the board had decided to move the servers to the military base itself. That meant that in a matter of weeks, perhaps only days, Genisys would be plugged in. And once that happened, it didn't matter if he spilled every secret of the T-3000 and it's too far advanced technology to the General.

"You must be able to deactivate him, can't you? You wouldn't create an AI like this without some way of shutting it off." Too many of his questions were being shrugged off with simple answers that evaded any actual knowledge being given.

"That's what I'm working on right now. Once his artificial intelligence was uploaded into the nanites, there was no way to undo it. Our only option is to destroy him."

If Robert wasn't already carefully guarding his expression, his brows would have risen in worry. But instead he only nodded, feigning agreement. "How long will that take?"

Alex only shrugged. "It's one of the most complex creations that ever come out of Cyberdyne. We'll have to completely disrupt the nanites ability to cohere and then destroy the rest manually. A couple of days for design and then perhaps a week more on top of that, more or less. It will depend on how useful your engineers are to me." It would be a difficult job for him indeed; to create something that would destroy Connor but not affect his own body in the process. As much as he hated to admit it, he might have to rely on the human engineers.

"Good. I'm sure they'd be eager to help. I want that thing gone as soon as possible." John had said they didn't have much time. Was that what he was talking about? No…he hadn't seemed concerned for himself. He'd said something about stopping it once. But what?

"We all do. But for now I have to go oversee operations at Cyberdyne. Crews are going to start digging out Genisys' core and I don't trust them not to damage it." Clear irritation crossed the man's face as he spoke.  
That made sense, Brewster knew that Major cared about Genisys more than anything in the w-

Genisys.  
The countdown.  
It was supposed to launch only hours after the facility had been blown sky high.  
 _'We stopped it once, but now that I'm here I can't do it again.'_  
Could that be it? Genisys…. John had also mentioned Skynet …A name that no one outside of the military knew, a name that hadn't even been approved; the name of the basic AI that would assist in national defense. It was supposed to help automate all defense systems and secure any confidential and classified information from attacks.  
And John had known the name. Blowing the Cyberdyne's facility had not only stopped Genisys but also the Skynet AI from going online.

Surprise must have broken through Brewster's careful expression because Major frowned. "That surprises you? Workmen are clumsy and don't understand how valuable that core is."

Forcing the surprise away, Brewster shook his head. "No, that's understandable. I'm only surprised their starting work on it so soon. I didn't think they'd be able to access it under the wreckage for days."

Nodding in agreement, Alex began stepping back towards the door. "It was a pleasant surprise for me as well. For now, I have to go. I'll keep you informed."

Standing, the General moved to see the CEO out. "Thank you. Good luck." Shutting his office door behind the man, Brewster peered out of the blinds covering his office window to watch Major leave. When he was out of sight, Robert flew out of his office in the opposite direction. He had to go talk to Connor.

Rounding the first corner, his steps were so rushed he actually collided with someone. Reaching out, he caught their shoulder before they tumbled to the ground.

"Dad..." The redhead caught her balance, looking up into the older man's face. "What's the rush?"

Having decided after his conversation with Robert Brewster not to power down again, John stared blankly at the floor. It was a race against time now to see what happened first; Skynet destroying him, Genisys being revived, or Rob being able to figure it all out. Then again, so many things factored into the last option.  
Even if the General managed to figure it out, and John didn't doubt he would, anything could happen. He could try and thwart Genisys and Skynet by himself using the military, but with no proof that wouldn't get him anywhere. Or, he could go to Grant, who he hoped would be able to lead him to Kyle and Sarah. But that was a long shot. He hadn't seen the police lieutenant since before Cyberdyne blew. For all he knew, the man had been arrested…or even worse, killed by Skynet.

But if somehow miraculously, Grant managed to connect Brewster and his parents, how would he manage to get them to Genisys' core? It was surely highly protected now. They would certainly move it somewhere safe, probably to a military base and definitely somewhere that wouldn't be as easy to infiltrate as Cyberdyne.

Without anything to focus on, John kept running the scenarios through his head again and again. He'd playing out thousands of possibilities through his thoughts, all usually ending badly for one or more or his allies.

And then there was his situation. He tried not to think about it too much. The magnetic pull seemed to be fatiguing him even worse now, as his systems grew more taxed trying to fight it. He could feel the uncomfortable press of the heavy steel across his chest with every breath he took as well. He knew that he didn't need to keep that function going, but he had trouble letting go of it. He needed anything he could get to remind his that he was human, and not only Skynet's creation.

Thoughts still racing, John didn't realize someone had entered the viewing room until the static pop of the com came on. Raising his gaze, he frowned slightly when it fell on General Brewster. "I thought I'd made it clear that it was t-" To dangerous for us to talk, was how he was going to finish, but instead the words died in his throat.

His heart actually stopped in his chest, the phase matter not understanding the signals his consciousness was sending it. Mouth slightly parted, John could only stare, wide eyed, at the person who had entered behind Rob.

"Kate." The name came out a gasped whisper and he again turned his head down to stare at the floor. He could feel his chest and throat tighten in a remembrance of being human, and he was pretty sure that had he still been he would start crying. He wasn't sure if he was thankful or not that his new body didn't possess that function. Error messages became registering, the phase matter not understanding the signals that his consciousness was sending out.

Behind the glass, Kate stepped up beside her father, face questioning the AI's reaction. She'd heard, like everyone else in the military, rumors of what had happened at Cyberdyne and who the culprit had been. It had been beyond her clearance level, but she'd pretty much told her father that he was going to let her see it. She hadn't been at all expecting what was presented in the other room.

Looking from his daughter, back to John, the General frowned. "When you first saw me you knew me….but you definitely just recognized her…." How was that possible?

Closing his eyes, John turned his head away, but despite not accepting any more visual data, the image of her was already engrained in his mind. She was alive in this time line, healthy and well; older than he had ever seen her. She must be about thirty now, give or take a few years. She wouldn't remember him, wouldn't recognize him…wouldn't know him. That hurt even more than watching the explosion that she'd died in.

Biting his lip for a moment, John gathered himself before speaking. "You shouldn't be here…" He paused, voice quieting. "Either of you."

"You just recognized me…" Kate had stepped right up to the glass to study the man. Rumors had said that he'd been an AI….but…this was a person. The compassion that came from her previous work in medicine made her chest constrict in pain at the way he was being treated. AI or not, that look on his face was clearly one of pain. "Who are you?"

"It…doesn't matter." John's heart broke at her words. Opening his eyes, he kept his gaze down, not daring to look up to see the expression he knew she wore.

Rob stared at the other man for a minute. Things were making even less sense now than before… But knowing full well how elusive John was with information, he didn't wait for an answer. "You don't have much time. Major is starting designs on something that will destroy you."

"I'm aware. He told me." The words were short and quiet, lacking any and all of the oomph that they'd had in their first conversation.

Frowning, Brewster carefully watched the man's expression. He was being so guarded before, careful with his words and actions. His face held only sadness now and he wouldn't even look up…not since Kate had walked in. Rob hadn't wanted to bring the young woman down here but she wasn't going to take no for an answer….he hadn't been expecting a reaction so intriguing. "When you said that you stopped it once…you were talking about Genisys."

John nodded slightly. "There is an AI; dangerous and intelligent. But it's not me."

"It's core survived. They're going to bring it here."

"You shouldn't be here. Find Grant, he'll tell you the rest." The more often Robert came down to talk, the greater the chances that Skynet would see him as a threat and eliminate him. And Kate…god…why was Kate here?

"No." The woman's forceful words made John's eyes finally rise to meet hers. She was frowning, eying him down. It was an expression he remembered well. "I want to know exactly what's going on. Who are you? You're supposed to be an AI."

Pain crossed John's face again, but he didn't drop his gaze this time. "My body is machine, my mind is human." John actually answered her, causing the Generals brows to rise in surprise. That was more than he'd managed to get out of him….but…that was even more impossible.

"That's impossible. Technology isn't that advanced." Kate didn't want to believe it…but the expression he wore…the emotion in his voice….The way those intense blue eyes seemed to see right into her…

"What would be more believable to you then, that I was an AI?" He shook his head, expression sad.

"But you know me. I can see it." Kate didn't miss the way his hands clenched into fists, or that his eyes quickly lowered again.

"In a different life…" The resistance leader wanted nothing more than to bury his face in his hands, hide his expression from her. The way he was splayed out, arms stretched out at his sides, made him feel vulnerable.

Shaking her head slightly, the frustration fell away from her face leaving only curiosity and sadness. The last time she had anyone look at her the way this man was, was when her mother had died.  
"Does it hurt?" Kate motioned slightly at the device holding him before again crossing her arms.

Brows coming together, John's eyes rose again to meet hers. He couldn't help the tiny laugh that escaped. It was so surreal…seeing her…and then having her ask him that… "It's uncomfortable…pain only registers when I try to move." He shook his head slightly, regarding her. "Why are you here? I thought you'd always wanted to be a vet."

Taken aback, the woman mouth dropped open slightly. The General's eyes also widened. So his recognition wasn't just put on or in name… It took a moment before Kate could get any words out. "I…I went to medical school…But…" She'd lost all faith in medicine when her mother had died. The illness had been curable but that didn't seem to make a difference. "Dad…got me a job here a few years ago…..Do I know you?"

"No…" The word was quiet, sad. "You should leave. The longer you stay, the more danger you're in."

"He's right, honey…" Rob placed a hand on his daughters shoulder, gently pulling her away from the glass and ushering her towards the door. This time Kate didn't protest, instead only throwing a glance over her shoulder to catch a final forlorn look from John.

"I'll find your man and get to the bottom of this." The General nodded before hitting the com and turning to leave.

Watching the two go, it took the resistance leader a few minutes to recover. Taking a long and steadying breath, he finally reactivated his heart which had stopped when Kate had stepped into the room. Shutting his eyes, he raised his head until it thunked against the metal behind him. Trying to control his racing thoughts, John focused on the calming beat.

"Jesus….is it ever good to see you, Kate…" His quiet voice echoed into the silence of the room.

Author's notes:  
Annnd that would be what I was foreshadowing. I had planned that meeting many different ways. It coouuuld have been more tragic but I've already done enough to hurt John for now.


	32. Chapter 32

"Dad, what's actually going on?" Kate sent a curious and worried stare up at the older man as both Brewster's made their way towards the elevator that would take them out of the sub-basement housing the labs.

The General pursed his lips for a moment and sent a quick glance at his daughter. Knowing the look immediately, Kate frowned. "No. Don't you dare say that you can't tell me or some shit about it being above my clearance." As they both stepped into the elevator, she turned to stare up at him as he swiped his clearance card and pressed the button to the main level. "What I just saw….this isn't…this is way bigger than just the military…."

Sighing, Rob finally focused his gaze on the woman. "You're right. There's something going on." He reached up, squeezing her shoulder. "My reluctance isn't about clearance level, all of that went out the window when he recognized you. This is about keeping you safe."

Frowning, she shook her head slightly, not understanding. "And what would you be keeping me safe from?"

Turning his gaze away again, the General stared thoughtfully at the elevator doors. "I don't know yet." When the lift stopped and the doors slid open, he glanced at his daughter. "We'll talk more where it's private."

Nodding her agreement, father and daughter made their way out of the facility in silence. Reaching the lobby, Rob was just nodding to the guard at the security desk when he laid eyes on that familiar face rounding the hall towards the lobby from the opposite direction.

Kate looked up at him questioningly when he swore quietly under his breath. Noticing, Robert only shook his head before smiling up at the CEO who just stepped through the glass doors towards them. "Mr. Major, I thought you'd be on your way to Cyberdyne already."

Alex only shook his head in irritation. "I was caught up on a phone call with Danny Dyson and ended up having to run a bunch of numbers."

"I can't imagine that would have taken very long for you." Anyone that was acquainted with Alex Major knew well his efficiency with calculations. Some even said that he had eidetic memory, which wouldn't be hard to believe.

Major scoffed. "Of course it didn't. But how fast I am doesn't make up for Dyson's lack of speed or his incessant questions and worry." He paused then, irritation seeming to leave when he laid eyes on the redhead standing beside her father.

Noticing Alex's attention shift to Kate, Rob forced his expression to stay pleasant. "Ah, I don't think you two have ever met. Alex, this is my daughter, Kate." Something about the way the CEO was looking at Kate made the General's blood run cold. Major was a little odd at best of times, but he'd never given him quite as many chills as he was now. "Kate, this is-"

"Alex Major, one of Cyberdyne's CEO's and leading researcher in computer technology." Kate smiled, holding her hand out for the man to shake. "I've heard good things about you."

Major glanced down at the woman's hand for a second before meeting her eyes. Taking the hand in a firm grasp, a wide grin spread across his face. "It's nice to know my reputation precedes me." Immediately upon laying eyes on the woman, warning signal's flashed through his mind. 'Primary target'. He'd never been worried about Robert Brewster being a problem, particularly now that he had the man more or less under his influence. But locating Kate Brewster had never occurred to him. Any sign of her had disappeared about half way through the war and he'd only assumed that he'd been successful in terminating her. After that he'd more or less buried any immediate necessity to find her and instead chose greater targets. But now…here she stood, completely oblivious to the entire situation.

In his past, Kate Brewster had been John Connors second in command. A leader to be eliminated. If only he had known what he did now. Having evolved the way he had in the past years, Skynet finally understood. Kate Brewster was not just important to John Connor as a leader in his resistance. She was important to him _emotionally_. Never in his past had he been able to understand the significance of their relationship... Kate Brewster had been Connor's wife.

Something about the look in Major's eye made Kate's smile falter. His grin was beginning to look less and less pleasant with every passing moment and more and more like a wolf who'd just spotted his pray. Taking a breath, Kate cleared her throat and pulled her hand away. "Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, but we should be going…" Not wanting to seem rude, she tried to keep her voice cheerful. But even if she failed, that grin never left Major's face. It was an expression that one might wear when they knew something everyone else didn't.

"Ah, yes. I must be on my way as well considering how late I am. It was nice meeting you, Kate Brewster." He nodded to the General before turning and quickly stepping out the doors and into the parking lot.

Watching him go, Kate let out a tiny laugh, shrugging off the strange encounter with her usual humor. "He was certainly odd…" She trailed off when she saw her father's expression. "What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you in the car."

Rob's shoulders were still tense even when the two Brewsters climbed into the old pickup. Watching her father insert the key but not turn it, Kate set an expectant gaze on the man. "Ok. Let's start with who the guy in the basement is and how we're getting away with treating him like that." The look on that man's face still haunted her. She still didn't know if she believed he was a machine, but certainly no AI could possibly emulate the grief and pain that had been held in his expression.

Taking a steady breath, the General then regaled Kate with the story, starting with the strange phone call and police footage, to the incident at Cyberdyne and John's capture.  
"As far as I knew, he was an AI. Despite how far out Major's story was there was nothing else to believe…until I actually spoke to him." Rob shook his head. "He wouldn't give me much. But what I do know is that he and his people blew Cyberdyne to stop Genisys from coming online; and with Genisys, Skynet."

"Skynet…That's um…" It wasn't her department but Kate had definitely heard the term before. "That's the computer AI that's supposed to help run our defense system's right? But what does that man have to do with any of that?"

Rob shook his head. "I don't know. What I do know is that Alex Major plays a role in it all…that he's had some hand in creating John or if Cyberdyne was experimenting and it got out of control….maybe John learned something he wasn't supposed to…I don't know."

"John." Kate's brows came together and she looked down at the steering wheel. "That's his name?" She paused for a moment before speaking again, words quiet. "How are we justifying keeping him like that? It's inhumane and immortal."

"Courtesy of Major as well." The general crossed his arms. "Even if John's not an AI, he's not human, and that's all that most people know. I wasn't even able to get him to tell me what he was until…. Well, until you asked…" Robert would never forget Connor's reaction to the young woman. It was like she'd broken down those carefully placed and guarded walls he'd be hiding behind. He had been vulnerable to her.

"Why me? How could he recognize me?" He'd known her name…but even more impossible, he'd known that she'd wanted to be a vet. He'd spoken like….like he knew her personally…

"I don't know." There was still a lot he didn't know. "But I intend to find out. He gave me the name of someone who's supposed to fill in the blanks."

"Alright…" Kate rubbed her hands together. "Alright, let's go meet this guy then."

"First I'm going to drop you off at your apartment." Rob turned the key in the ignition, bringing a growl from the engine as it roared to life. "It might be dangerous. We still don't know what's going on."

The redhead stared at her father incredulously before crossing her arms. "If you think for one moment I'm going to go home, you have another thing coming."

Turning to her, the General flashed a half smile, eyes twinkling. "Hey, I'm still your father. Now I can say that I at least tried."

Kate scoffed, rolling her eyes for a moment as he put the truck in reverse and backed out. "Very funny." She paused, waiting until he was on the road before speaking again. "Where are we going then?"

"The police."  
...

Sitting at the kitchen table in Grant's small apartment, Sarah stared blankly down at the coffee set in front of her. She was exhausted, knowing full well that the last time she'd slept had been in john's apartment, nearly 48 hours earlier. The lieutenant, whose name she'd finally learned to be Daryl, had offered her his bed but she'd politely refused. Despite his hospitality, she hated having to rely on anyone, particularly someone she didn't entirely trust.  
If Reese wasn't still down for the count, unconscious on the Lieutenant's couch, she figured that they probably would never have met again.

Taking what could only be called a swig of coffee, Sarah sighed. She was worried about Reese. By the time they'd arrived at Grant's, the soldier had been unconscious. It was probably a blessing, considering the fact that she'd had to fish the bullet out of his hip. But ever since then he'd barely returned to consciousness for more than ten minutes.

The young woman knew just how strong Kyle was…but he'd lost a lot of blood in the car, and even more in her amateur operation. All the while, there was that squirming thought in the back of her mind that he was going to die; that she should have been faster…or done something more to save him.

Sarah pushed that thought away when O'Brian took a seat next to her. The old cop was looking more haggard than usual, but despite that he carried around a satisfied air. He had, after all, fulfilled his life time's work. Grant had went back to work that morning and with his return a few hours ago, confirmed that the old detective was, in fact, a wanted man. The security guards from Cyberdyne had woken up with only mild injuries but major fingers to point. Fortunately, the Lieutenant was still unconnected to the crime and would be able to serve as their eyes and ears in the police.

"How are you doing?" O'Brian sent Sarah a tired smile, which the young woman returned.

"Tired. Worried." They both glanced through the doorway to the soldier on the couch.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Sarah." The detective knew very little of Kyle, but from even the few meetings he knew well that the young man was a fighter. "He's strong."

Nodding, Sarah stared down into her coffee. That's what she'd been telling herself but it didn't seem to help.

"So what now?" He spoke again, prompting the young woman out of her thoughts. "The whole thing with Cyberdyne is all over the news. You succeeded."

"I don't know. Skynet is still out there somewhere…" And so was John. Deep down she prayed to any god that was listening that the AI wouldn't somehow manage to take hold of her son. She wanted to believe so badly that he was still on their side….but she just couldn't trust him. Not after he'd executed that poor cop. "I suppose…we need to find some way to destroy Skynet's AI…find…" She shook her head, rubbing her hands over her face before continuing. "…Find out if there's any way for Genisys to still happen and stop it…"It was so difficult not having an obvious goal. Even though the Genisys count down was incredibly stressful, it gave her little group a sense of purpose; something to work towards and a set timeline to do so. Now? She wasn't sure how to proceed. All she could hope for was that when Pop's got back from reconnaissance at the wreckage of Cyberdyne he'd be able to give them somewhere to start.

Furrowing her brow, she caught herself wishing John were with them. Not the T-3000, but her John; human John. He would have known what to do…he always seemed to.

"As far as I can see, there's nothing you can do until he's better." It was Grant that spoke then, stepping into the small room to join them. It was strange for both Sarah and O'Brian seeing the man dressed down in only a T-shirt and jeans. "How is he doing?"

"Same as before. Asleep." The young woman sighed again.

"Who, me? Naw…"

The quiet pained voice from the adjoining room caused Sarah to jump up and move quickly to the soldier's side. "Hey, move slow…" She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Pft, I've had worse…" He trailed off, realizing what he'd just said. John's words. Thinking about his friend caused his heart to clench painfully. "How long was I out?"

The Lieutenant's cell ringing distracted Sarah for a moment as he answered and stepped into the other room, but she quickly turned her gaze back to Reese. "About a day. How do you feel?"

Kyle frowned slightly. He was lightheaded and exhausted with pain radiating up his side and down his leg, but otherwise he was ok. In his lifetime he'd had to fight through injuries like this one, and he would be able to do the same now if he had to. "I'll be fine."

Sarah's felt her throat tighten at the man's resolve. The way his brows were furrowed and his mouth was drawn into that thin line told her how very not fine he was. But her respect for him grew with every passing moment.

"Um…" Grant stepped into the room then, phone still in his hand but held against his chest as if to muffle sound. "I think we may have a problem."

Authors notes:  
Chapters with a bunch of talking always take me a little longer to think up. There's just so much ground I need to cover before I move onto the next phase of the story...gah so much character interaction.

ALSO EVERYONE. If you like this story (and I'm assuming yes since you're still here 32 chapters later) go and read 'The Year's Between' by CyberButterfly! It follows John and Skynet's story during the time he was waiting for Kyle and Sarah! It's great! Seriously! Go go go! Reeeaad it!

Here are my songs of the day, all more or less applying to John, Skynet, the gang or a mix of them:  
Diplo - Revolution (SEAN&BOBO REMIX) - Pretty self explanatory  
Chase & Status Ft. Mali - Let You Go - Skynet towards John  
The Str!ke - Warriors - YES Resistance all the way!  
Bastille - Pompeii - this is just kind of...John and feelings about the cycle he's in  
Down With Webster - I Need The World - John/resistance towards Skynet


	33. Chapter 33

Attitude flipping completely from concerned to business, Sarah stood, turning to frown at Grant. "What do you mean problem? Are they onto you?"

"Are they onto _me_?" O'Brian stepped into the sitting room to join them, coffee still in his hand.

"I'm not sure." The lieutenant set worried eyes on Sarah. "There was some military guy asking for me personally back at the station. They stalled for me, told him that I had taken a vacation day, but he said he'd be back, what should I do?" Grant wasn't used to being so helpless. He certainly wasn't used to being involved in anything so shifty he couldn't just be honest. How much his life had changed in only a few days... He'd went from a sceptical but honest cop to an accomplice in one of the biggest local terrorist attacks the city has seen.

"Military?" Sarah's frown deepened and she bit her lip slightly. "The military owns Skynet. If they're asking for you specifically they probably know you're involved."

Grant cursed under his breath. Damn this whole situation he'd gotten himself into. Damn O'Brian and his crazy theories being right. Thankfully the cops at the station had no love for any greater power that tried to throw around their weight, including but not exclusive to the FBI and Military. "If I'm compromised we need to think of something fast." Once more he then lifted the phone to his ear and stepped out of the room.

"Shit…" Sarah swore, running both hands through her hair.

"Wait." It was O'Brian to speak then. "If they're onto Daryl as a suspect, then they certainly wouldn't be phoning him a warning."

"Yeah, so?" Sarah crossed her arms, not fully understanding where he was going with it.

"Well, even if the military had evidence, they'd share it was the force, implicating Grant in the attack. There wouldn't be a warning at all, they would have already busted down the door."

"So what, you're saying that this guy is working alone…." Kyle caught on first, but trailed off in a string of curses. "Skynet. It's Skynet."

Eyes widening in worry, Sarah looked down at Reese. "If he's already onto Grant, how much do you think he knows? How easy would it be to make that connection?" Looking up when the Lieutenant stepped back into the room, she didn't even give him time to speak. "How long ago did they say he was there?"

The man's mouth opened and closed like a fish for a moment before he answered. "About twenty minutes…" The look in Sarah's eyes was making him nervous. "Why? What's going on?"

"We need to get out of here." Kyle pushed himself off the couch, managing to stay on his feet despite his knees buckling for a moment. It was O'Brian who stepped forward to help him steady his balance.

"Why? Who do you think this guy is?" Grant's confused and worried gaze flickered around the room.

"It's-" A knock on the door stopped her words mid-sentence, dropping her heart into stomach. Voice lowering to a hushed whisper, Sarah turned to meet Grants wide fearful gaze. "Do you have a weapon?" Knowing full well that if that was indeed Skynet that gun wouldn't do much good, it may still pose as a distraction enough for a few of them to get away.

"On my desk in my room…" Sarah nodded, stepping quickly down the hall to retrieve the weapon as Grant moved nervously towards the door.

Looking through the peephole, he frowned slightly. He wasn't really sure what exactly had Sarah and Kyle so afraid, but their tension was getting to him. The man outside of his door was without a doubt the one that had been looking for him at the station. But he looked normal enough….

Taking a breath, he cracked the door, eying the man expectantly. "Hi…?" He said slowly, waiting for some sudden weapon to be pointed at him, or the man to lunge for his throat…but nothing happened.

"You're…Grant?"

"Who's asking?" The Lieutenant suddenly realized that visitor wasn't alone. Standing just behind him and wearing a similar military style uniform was a woman about his own age.

"General Brewster." The title made Daryl raise his brows in surprise but he stayed quiet, waiting for more of an explanation.

The older gentleman coughed slightly, seeming suddenly just as nervous as Grant. "Normally I would never track down a person like this…but these circumstances aren't normal…. or official by any means." He paused, suddenly worried that his was a bad idea, but then continued. "I was told that you could fill in some blanks… I was sent by John Connor."

Taken aback by the news, Grant stared at the General for a moment, eyes wide. John had sent him? Sarah had told him what had happened to Connor. Perhaps he'd sent this guy because he couldn't come himself? What was going on…?

Waiting for Grant to reply, the cracked door suddenly shut. He was just about to turn to speak to Kate when it opened all the way.

"I think you'd better come in."

"I was worried I'd had the wrong person." Rob stepped into the hall past the antsy looking lieutenant followed closely by Kate. "This is my daughter, Kate."

The redhead sent a smile at the man which was half-heartedly returned. "Things are pretty tense at the moment. Just…give me one secon-" Too late….

"Hands up! Don't move!" Sarah had stepped out from behind the corner, gun raised. "I want to know who you are and what you want."

Raising his brows in surprise, the General obliged. He'd definitely found the right place. "My name is Robert Brewster. I'm supposed to tell you…John Connor sent me."

Sarah faltered for a moment, gun lowering slightly. "How do you know John?" She asked, voice still cold.

"Wait! Sarah!" Having been waiting in the sitting room with O'Brian, it took a few moments for that distant voice to reach Kyle. But once it did, he recognized it immediately. One hand pressed over the injury, the soldier rounded the corner. Putting his other hand on Sarah's gun to gently lower it, Reese stared wide eyed at the two people standing awkwardly in the doorway. "General Robert Brewster…" He spoke quietly, brows coming together in shock. This had been the last person he thought he'd see. Brewster had been one of John's highest ranking officers. As John's right hand, Kyle outranked the man but in title only. Not an officer in the resistance would have tried to question any order given by Brewster.

Making sure to place himself in front of Kate, Rob lowered his hands as the young woman's gun dropped. Brows coming together, the General eyed the young man up and down. He was obviously injured, one hand pressed to his hip and eyes pained. He also gave the impression of a soldier, stance one of readiness despite injury. There was a strange barcode burnt into his left forearm. "You recognized me as well. How?"

Kyle frowned, looking down at Sarah who was eying him questioningly. "It's ok. He was one of John's guys during the war. We can trust him." The woman behind Rob though… Looking up, Reese caught the redheads gaze. "And you're….?

"Kate Brewster." Her eyes darted from Kyle to Sarah peering from behind her father's shoulder, and then to the older looking gentleman with the glasses who'd just peeped his head out from around the wall. "He's my father."  
By god…Kate….Kyle's mind raced. John had never mentioned her name personally….but he'd heard the story's being whispered amongst the soldiers. Kate Brewster…John's wife.

"You said John sent you. Why?" At Kyle's sudden silence, Sarah took the moment to speak again. This man may have been one of her son's in the past timeline, but things had changed; as this man may have.

"You're his allies?" The young man had mentioned a war? Him knowing John? He'd done a few tours in the past but never had he seen an actual war.

"We're his family." Kyle spoke quietly, eyeing the man.

"His family?" Kate spoke up, stepping out from behind her father. "So he's not an AI…?"

"No. He's not." Kyle shook his head. "Let's sit down, I can't stand for much longer."

The group of people crammed into Grant's small sitting room would have been a strange sight to see. Kyle, Sarah and O'Brian were sitting squeezed onto the sofa. The General had taken resistance in a cushioned chair beside the couch with Kate perched on its arm rest; and Grant had pulled a wooden chair in from the kitchen and was sitting in it backwards.

"Who wants to go first?" It was Kyle who broke the awkward tension in the room.

Sarah, who was still holding Grants gun, eyed Rob. "You were telling us how you know John."

The General glanced around the room before regaling them, like he did with Kate, the events of the past few days. About how he'd seen the footage from the jail cell, all the way until after Cyberdyne blew.

"This guy from Cyberdyne…" Kyle swallowed nervously, anger and worry building in his chest and nearly overtaking the pain from the wound. "You're saying that he's got John…" At the General's nod, the soldier swore, running both hands through his cropped hair. "He'll by fine, Kyle. He can take care of himself, Kyle. He's practically invincible, Kyle…." He let out the string of panicked mocking words, turning his gaze to Sarah. "This is John Connor we're talking about! If anyone could get their sorry ass caught it would be him…"

"He's gone full machine, how would I have known that Skynet's AI would be there?" Sarah stood from the couch, raising her hands into the air in exasperation with Reese's accusing gaze. "You saw how invincible the T-5000 is, why would I have assumed any less from John? Especially after what we saw how strong he was!"

"Ok, ok…" Rob tried to cut into the argument. "Skynet's AI….did I just hear you correctly?" Turning his gaze away from Sarah, Kyle nodded. "First of all….how do you even know about that? Secondly…Genisys, along with Skynet were destroyed when…and I'm assuming that it was you…destroyed Cyberdyne."

Expression calming slightly, the soldier set a glance at the young woman before turning back at Rob. "Kate…you said you thought John was an AI. He's not. He's human, or he was. The real danger….the real AI….is guy you've described from Cyberdyne. Skynet."

Listening intently to the young man speak, suddenly something John had said was replaying in Rob's mind. ' _There is an AI…Dangerous and intelligent…but it's not me._ ' "That's impossible." The General shook his head, wanting to get up and pace but not having enough room.

"That's what I've been saying for years." It was actually Grant who spoke then. "Until I saw a guy take a full clip through the chest and then literally sit up in the morgue before my eyes. It's hard to be a sceptic after you witness something like that."

Leaning forward, Rob ran both hands over his face. "I've known Major for years. Not that he's not odd enough to fit the role, but there's no way he could be…"

"This is going to be the hard part…" Kyle muttered.

"Time travel." O'Brian spoke up; nodding his agreement with his own words.

"You've got to be joking." But looking at the expression of those seated around him, they couldn't be more serious. "You're not joking."

"John and I…" Kyle leaned forward. "We're from….the future."

The General was quiet as he stared at the young man. He believed that John Connor was a man trapped in a machine, sure. He believed that Alex Major had some nefarious plot, yeah. He would even believe that the Genisys and Skynet AI would have had awful consequences if it came online….but time travel? Alex Major being the AI? Come on…

"Dad…" Suddenly remembering that his daughter had been quietly sitting beside him, he turned his gaze up towards her. "He knew me. He didn't just recognize me…he knew me." The redhead turned her gaze to Kyle. "John…you said…you and he were from the future. Would…he have known me?" A pained expression passed over Kyle's face, quite similar to the one she'd seen on John….very similar in fact.  
"He does then…And he was…human once?" Again that same pained expression. "What happened?"

"Judgement day." Kyle answered quietly. "In my timeline…John's timeline…when Skynet came online in started nuclear war in an attempt to eliminate humanity. It saw us as a threat. When it realized there were survivors, it built machines to try and terminate the rest of us…John was our leader against the machines; against Skynet." He paused, nodding at Rob. "You sir, were one of his top commanders."

Still not sure she truly believed what she was hearing, Kate couldn't help her curiosity. "And me?"

The soldier lowered his gaze. "You um…you died…before I ever had the chance to meet you, but…You and John were…close."

Taken aback, Kate suddenly saw that man's face in her mind once more. He'd looked at her like a ghost; like her very presence cut him like a knife. If any of this was true… If the fact that he was indeed human once was true…God…she didn't want to think about it. That poor man…

"Alright…" General Brewster pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, feeling a headache coming on. Coming here, he'd thought that maybe these people would let him in on a terrorist plot…or explain to him the nefarious inner workings of Cyberdyne. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined something like this…but after everything he'd seen…everything that man, John Connor had explained in that infuriatingly vague way…this story…was becoming freakishly believable. "Let's say…that I might believe you. I'm going to need the entire story. From the beginning."

Taking a breath, Kyle sat back on the couch tiredly. Wiping the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his T-shirt the solider nodded. His side and leg were on fire but he had to suck it up. He was in for a long one. "Ok. From the top."

Authors notes:  
No you're not going crazy, this is indeed two chapters in one night. Making up for lost time...and also just pushing through the parts I find less exciting to write while I still have motivation to write them. ^^;;

Song of the chapters lol  
Hurts - Help - this is just...John and Kate just...emotions  
Kwabs - Last Stand - Just...John has lived a really shitty life  
Pop Evil - Trenches - THIS IS KYLE THIS IS KYLE


	34. Chapter 34

Time passed slowly for John.  
Or rather…it passed at the exact same speed it always did. He'd just never really understood how slow that was until every waking second was kept accurately and flawlessly by his inner clock.  
It was the next day already. Exactly thirteen hours, twelve minutes and seven seconds had passed since General Brewster and Kate had turned and left.

The T-3000 had shut down every program that was not necessary, rerouting all available power to resist the magnetic pull of the restraints. His body was taxed, and his consciousness was exhausted. He'd taken a lot of hits throughout his life and managed to keep going, keep strong for the people who depended on him. But the events of the past few days were the hardest he'd ever had to live through.

Tired of his racing thoughts, John had sifted through his body's capabilities and realized that he could, if he so desired, shut down parts of his thought process. Even as tempting as that was….to get away from his own racing thoughts, the concept also terrified him. The only remaining part of him that was human was his mind. If he shut down that humanity, could he ever get it back? Would he want to?

No….As hard as his current predicament and existence was, he had decided he would just have to bite the bullet. And so he did, unmoving and in silence with only himself as company; and he wasn't good company. As the hours passed, the scenario's that were running through his mind were getting even bleaker…darker.

Sudden movement behind the glass was a welcome distraction….until he realized who it was. He felt his subconscious reroute power and he tensed significantly. When the pop of the com coming online reached the resistance leader, he narrowed his eyes at the AI. "If you aren't going to kill me, then you have no reason to be here."

"There's a lot more you can do for me then just die." Something about Skynet's words struck a chord of worry through John. "But I'll discuss that in a moment."

"Get to the point."

"As you know, I've evolved. I understand much about humans now; how they think, why they do what they do. I understand emotion. Anger, jealously, fear…." The AI folded his hands behind his back, a smile spreading across his face. Despite the evolution of his AI into something that could experience emotion; love…caring…warmth…was something he never felt, nor desired to. Be he certainly understood it. "I understand why two of your species become close…"

Worry creeping into John's mind; he kept his face a mask of anger and indifference despite his racing thoughts. This could only be going somewhere that was not good for him or the people he cared for.

"I met someone yesterday. You might be interested to know that for some reason this person was registering to me as a primary target." Skynet paused, regarding John. Despite the resistance leaders attempt to keep a straight face, the AI caught even the slightest facial ticks. "What ever happened to katherine Brewster in our timeline?"

Had John been human he would have visibly blanched, but even though he was not, he had a very similar reaction. Eyes widening, the irritated expression quickly melted into a look of pure horror and fear.

Not waiting for John to speak, Skynet continued. "I have files on her. John Connor's second in command; a target certainly worth eliminating. But sometime midway through the war she disappeared." The AI mused aloud, enjoying John's expression. "I can only assume that I killed her."

Seeing the resistance leaders face darken only proved his theory correct. But then again, the probability that he had been the cause of her death had been so high; he had already decided that it must be true. "It's truly a pity. My past self never quite understood the significance of Kate and that you and her were close."

The resistance leaders throat tightened, the remembrance of his humanity playing out like an echo in the machine. Heart thundering, John couldn't manage to keep the pain from his face. Skynet had a bead on Kate now. Not only that, but she wasn't just a target because of her connection to the resistance. Skynet _knew._ It knew that she was important to him, and that put her in such greater danger. Because of him… because he loved her.

"Wouldn't it be a tragedy if I killed her again?"

"Don't you dare fucking touch her!" John was screaming the words before Skynet had even finished the sentence; and before he had even realized he was going to say them.

The joy at the reaction he'd gotten from his prisoner showed clearly on the AI's face. "You can still save her." Skynet's expression became serious. "If you tell me the location of every single hideout and ally you have; including Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor."  
Really, there was no logical reason for him to be doing this. The information was useful to him, but it wasn't a priority. With the Genisys core being safely removed from the wreckage, Judgement day wasn't far off. And once he'd completed his victory, this information would no longer be valid.  
The reality was he wanted to hurt John Connor, and now he had the greatest weapon to do that. Seeing Connor's horrified and pained expression brought him incredible satisfaction.

Mouth dropping open in dismay and anger, John felt his heart contract painfully. No…he couldn't….he couldn't do that….Shaking his head; he shut his eyes, trying to think of some way around this.

"No?" Skynet spoke once more. "If that's the case, I intend to go and locate your Kate, bring her down here, and then terminate her in front of you."

Eyes snapping open in a burst of fury, John wrenched forward in the restraints. The phase matter that had been staying precariously in place peeled away from his body to gather around the magnetic steel, leaving silver streaks of bare nanites across his skin. But despite his anger fueled best efforts, there was no escape. The only damage he had inflicted had been on himself. Error messages and warning signals flashed across his consciousness as the power surge quickly faded, leaving him drained and tired.

Slumping down into stillness once more, John let out a shaky breath. "I won't tell you anything…" Again….again he had to make this decision. To put the world over himself, as he always did. He told himself that if Skynet wasn't bluffing and it did indeed make good on his promise, he would still be saving the lives of the people important to him…Kyle…Sarah…Rob…and in doing so the world. His parents were the last chance humanity had…to stop Genisys from being rebooted. He still wasn't sure if the General had even connected with Grant..or if he was even alive. But he had to believe that. He had to believe that this decision would be the right one.

It didn't stop the pain though…the despair. Why did this have to be his life? Why did he always have to be the one to lose the people he cared about?

Watching John for a moment, the AI only smiled. He hadn't believed for a minute that the man would give up the resistance for one person, even if that person was someone he cared for. John Connor had always been his greatest enemy, the man who had thwarted him at every turn. And because of his, Skynet had always seen him to be something greater than human…something more formidable. It was Skynet's own fault, in that strange self-fulfilling prophecy, that's he turned John into just that. "Very well. It doesn't matter if she dies now or in a few weeks' time when Genisys comes online."

John didn't raise his gaze, instead staring at the floor blankly, brows drawn together and body shuttering with every breath. He desperately wanted to save her…to, for once, not care about his role as saviour. It took everything he had not to look up at that smug face and save the woman he loved.  
He was just worn so thin, emotionally and physically, being slowly picked apart by the magnetic pull and Skynet's taunting.

How much longer could he last like this? How much longer did he want to…?

...  
Author's notes:  
I would never usually post a chapter this short intentionally...but I hadn't intended to write this tonight. I had a godawful day and I did what I usually do and took it out on my muse. ^^;; It came out so emotional I don't want to skip scenes to Kyle and co. just to continue the chapter.  
Actually, here's a question. Would you all rather I post shorter chapters more often, or hold off for 2 or 3 days and post longer ones?

Here's the song of the chapter.  
Ryan Huston - Tired - Specifically for John, specifically for this chapter.


	35. Chapter 35

It had been a long night for everyone. Grant and O'Brian had ended up crashing, leaving Kyle and Sarah left sitting on the sofa alone. General Brewster had taken off his jacket and was looking years older now than he had when he walked in. Kate was sitting cross legged on the floor at her father's feet with her back resting against his legs.

After having the entire story explained to him, it wasn't that Rob didn't believe that tale; he just couldn't accept the fact that he _did_ believe it.

It had taken the majority of the night, but finally both parties had explained their sides of the story and everyone had a general understanding of the situation.

"So what do we do now?" Rob asked, running a hand over his face tiredly.

"We?" Kyle, despite being exhausted and in pain brightened. He'd always looked up to the man as a leader and tactician. If he was on their side they'd actually have a chance. "You'll help us?"

"If what you tell me is the truth….and I'm inclined to believe it despite how impossible it sounds….I'd be a fool not to."

"How much time do we have?" Sarah spoke up. "Before Genisys can come back online."

The sound of the apartment door opening and closing drew the group's attention, distracting the general before he could answer. When the massive leather clad form stepped through the door both Kyle and Sarah relaxed.

"Pops," Sarah greeted the machine, but didn't get up. "How did it go?"

"The Genisys core has survived. Since I've been upgraded my success rate in infiltrating has greatly improved. Destroying the core will be difficult but not impossible." Even as he spoke, the T-800 turned his gaze down to the two newcomers to their cause. "General Robert Brewster." He paused again, scanning the woman. "And Katherine Brewster, second in command of the resistance." Pop's turned a questioning gaze at Sarah and Kyle. "I don't understand how they've come to know of us or our location."

Kate's thoughts raced but she didn't speak, only stared at the biker looking machine. He'd called her…second in command? Despite Kyle' story, he'd left out anything to do with her. She had died in his timeline after all….but…second in command? He'd said that her and John had been close. But…how close was that? Together? _Married_? No way….she'd tried that once and it didn't work out. But…the way that he'd looked at her….

"I'm assuming this would be the terminator." Rob spoke as both Brewster's stood, sizing up the leather clad man sceptically. "We're here to join the cause."

"Pops, we already know the core survived. How much time do we have before they manage to extract it."

"It is uncertain."

"Major says it shouldn't take more than a couple weeks maybe less." General Brewster answered the question. "More time than John has."

"Pops, you think you can get close enough to that thing to plant an explosive?" Kyle set a gaze on the terminator.

"With the new ability to shift forms, infiltrating the work crew is a simple task. Getting anything of significant size close to the core would be the difficult part. The security they've set up even for the work team is tight."

"Dad, would you be able to get something in?" Kate finally chimed into the conversation, turning more than one thoughtful gaze to her.

...  
"I can't believe I'm doing this." The general muttered, pulling up next to the police tape surrounding the Cyberdyne wreckage. Glancing over to his passenger, the man nearly jumped a foot when right before his eyes the terminator shape shifted. Eyes wide, he could only stare for a moment. Where the huge leather clad biker had sat seconds before, was a rather underwhelming and average looking workman.

There had been very little proof of the story Kyle and Sarah had spun for him and he hadn't pressed for it. The technology that Major used….that he tried to explain John away as was beyond advanced. But this… "So you actually are a machine..."

"Yes." The terminator replied, voice still the same. "I was manufactured as a cybernetic organism, metal endoskeleton under living tissue. My flesh was destroyed in the blast at Cyberdyne and was replaced with Polyalloy."

Nodding and trying to get over the surprise, the general let out a calming breath. He hadn't actually done any field work in over a decade and couldn't help feeling nervous. From what he had been told, so much rode on destroying the core. "You have the…" He coughed, the words feeling odd to say. "The explosive?"

"Yes." Pops twisted, picking up the device and tucking it under the orange reflective jacket.

Walking up to the wreckage and the line of police and guards was certainly the most stressful thing Robert had done in years. Espionage had never been his thing, but somehow he managed to keep that cool and collected expression. Recognizing him immediately the man in charge of security nodded to him. "General Brewster. You're here t-"

"I'm here to oversee the progress being made on extracting the core. The military has a lot invested in this." He raised his head, looking down his nose at the security guard who nodded at him wide eyed. "Someone was supposed to show me the way down there."

"Right here! I'm right here!" Jogging up behind him, the general didn't recognize the T-800 for a moment in his new form. "I didn't think you'd be here to soon."

As the two stepped towards the line, Rob almost led out a sigh of relief when they were waved through, no questions asked. Letting Pop's step ahead of him, Brewster turned, catching the security guards attention again. "Do you know if Major is here?"

"Um…he was earlier. He left about an hour ago. Said he had some work to do back at the base."

Brewster nodded at the man. "I'll have to meet him later then. Thank you." Thoughts racing, the general finally let out a breath when he turned away. This entire mission would have been much more complicated had the CEO..hm…AI been here.

Being led through the wreckage by the T-800, Brewster felt his confidence grow with each step. They might be able to actually pull this off. They'd passed a few work crews on their way down already, but for the most part they only nodded to him. "Hey…" He caught up to the terminator, stepping close enough for his whisper not to be heard by anyone else. "If we set this thing off now won't it hurt everyone?"

"It will be a small scale blast, enough to destroy the core but not bring the remaining structures down. There may be injuries if any human is in close proximity."

"I'll help you destroy this thing, stop…judgement day... But I don't want to be responsible for anyone dying." He spoke in a hushed whisper, following the T-800 even further down into the wreckage. A path had mostly been cleared, so the going wasn't too rough.

"If we fail this mission and Genisys comes online, we will be responsible for the deaths of over 80 percent of the human race."

Swallowing, General Brewster didn't speak again. The machine was right. Whatever hellish future it was created in had to be stopped. And as hard as it was coming to terms with the truth, a few deaths now would be acceptable next to the destruction of the world. Somehow he always knew that Genisys…Skynet…Cyberdyne was bad news. He'd never trusted the idea of an AI having any control of military resources. And he supposed that he should feel validated, having everything he'd said on the matter be true.…but instead he only felt sick…afraid.

Finally coming upon the core, the Generals eyes widened. "It's way bigger than I thought…" The core itself was twice his height, round and with an intricate pattern of barbs of rods. It looked like what he imagined a virus molecule would look like, except on a much larger scale and glowing a faint red. It was ironic, all thing considered.

"General Brewster." Turning, he shook the man's hand who addressed him. "I assume you're here to inspect progress?"

"You've assumed correctly. How are you going to get it out of here without damaging it?"

"To be honest? With difficulty." The foreman answered, turning his gaze on the core. "We're going to have to take down the majority of the facility and lift it out with a crane."

"And you'll be able to do that without damaging it?" The General suddenly became very aware that the T-800 had disappeared from his side, probably blending in with the rest of the work man scurrying around the room. Deciding that looking around for him would only compromise the mission, Rob kept his focus on the conversation. He was only the distraction anyway.

The foreman visibly sighed at the question. "Trust me; I've already discussed it with Mr. Major. His solution was downloading the base programs onto a portable hard drive and transporting it to the base. He did that this morning, so we're good to go here; even if it does get banged up a little." Seeing the horrified look on the general's face caused the foreman to actually raise his hands defensively. "But we won't of course! Nothing will happen to it, I promise you. We have our best guys working on this."

Forcing the shock and horror off his face, Brewster hardened his expression and nodded to the man. "If anything happens to this core, you'll have some serious explaining to do." Turning to look the massive glowing sphere up and down once more, the general nodded to the now pale foreman before turning on his heal and walking out.

He hadn't even reached the next level up before the sound of the blast erupted behind him. Turning to stare back down the passage, a cloud of dust and smoke blew up into his face resulting in a coughing fit. Covering his mouth with the lapel of his uniform, he felt someone grab his arm pulling him up and away from the location of the blast. Ears ringing and eyes burning, Rob let himself he led away, even as more yelling workman rushed past him into the dust cloud.

Finally reaching the top level of the wreckage and clean air did he realize that the man at his side was Pops.

"What happened!?" The panicked security guard that had greeted them at the door approached.

"Find out." Rob managed to grit out before being sent into a fit of coughing again. "Something exploded. Find out immediately what it was and who was behind it."

Nodding, the security guard motioned for a few of his guys to head down towards the core. "Sir, are you going to be ok?"

Eyes still stinging, the General kept a hand gripping the T-800's sleeve. "Not as young as I used to be." Rob grit out, finally managing to stifle the coughing fit. Coming up on sixty one, he knew damned well that he wasn't cut out for action anymore.

"Maybe you should get to a hosp-"

"Just find out what caused that. Let us know as soon as you do." Nodding, the guard turned towards the inner parts of the wreckage as Pop's helped Rob past the security line. The General didn't truly start breathing easy again until they were at his truck, and that wasn't just because of the smoke and dust.  
Inserting the keys, Robert listened to the truck rumble to life before turning to the T-800. He had shifted back to his regular appearance in the time it had taken the man to start the engine. Still not used to the entire idea of shape shifting robots from the future, it took the man a moment to recollect his thoughts. "Is it destroyed?"

"Affirmative. No data will be retrievable from the core." He paused for a moment, adding a second thought. "Upon a quick scan there were minimal to severe injuries but no fatalities."

Nodding his thanks, Rob shifted the truck into gear, pulling away from the wreckage. "Good." He swallowed, keeping his eyes on the road. "Except now we have a different problem."

-  
Components and systems overheating in anger, Skynet didn't even realize he'd crushed the phone in his hand until minutes after he'd done it. Narrowing his eyes, his thoughts raced, calculating every possibility. The core had been destroyed.

Genisys...  
….was destroyed.

Was this anger? He knew what anger was. This was more than that, something greater that he had to dredge up a name for. Rage…Fury…either word would suffice.

Genisys' AI had been for the most part saved when he'd downloaded the base program that morning. But it would set back his plans weeks…months…maybe more. All of that coding…all of the work and hours that had been put into that core. His victory had been so close. He'd be so close…  
Not able to stop himself, Skynet let out a scream of rage. He wanted to slam a fist into the table but knew that any great feat of strength would blow his cover so he refrained. Logically that burst of emotion didn't help him…but it made him feel better.

He had to think.

Dusting the remains of the cell phone from his hands, the AI set himself back down on the stool in the lab, getting back to work. Running the program that would piece together the weapon at the same time as his thought process was easy enough. He ignored the human tech who was still staring at him, wide eyed and slightly afraid, from across the room.

"Hey…ah…you ok, man?"

"Shut up." The engineer obeyed the growled command, looking back down at the project he was working on.

Thoughts processing a mile a minute, Skynet's silver eyes flicked over what his hands were building, moving but not recording visual data. Someone….had managed to destroy the core. Reports said that Kyle Reese had been shot. His knowledge of human anatomy told him it would be impossible for the resistance fighter to be well enough to make a move. That left Sarah Connor. But there would be no way for her to get close enough to accomplish anything.

The T-800 that had been protecting Sarah Connor had been destroyed in the blast, left deactivated in the wreckage. But there was always the small chance that it had survived somehow. Fixating on that thought, the AI started running scenarios; every possible way that the terminator could have survived. Cocking his head to the side, Skynet narrowed his eyes, factoring in the surroundings of Cyberdyne. Polyalloy. It would be entirely possible for the machine to appropriate the material as its own. It would eve give it an even greater ability to infiltrate.

But even if this was indeed the way events progressed how could it have gotten inside? An ally? Skynet knew well enough that John Connor had allies beyond Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese. He had, after all, tried to kill them over the years. Many had escaped his grasp, disappearing in a way so thorough that only John Connor could accomplish for someone. Was this the doing of an unknown enemy? Someone working for John?

Or perhaps this had been someone closer? Did the resistance have an inside man? He turned his thoughts onto Robert Brewster then. The General had always been one of his greatest enemies. But in this timeline, the man was one of his own agents. Or was he? Despite the AI's grasp on humanity, he still couldn't fully understand a human's motives and thoughts. Was it possible that the general had betrayed him? He _had_ went and seen Connor. Did the resistance leader manage to turn him? It was possible? Of course it was.

He would have to watch the general closely. Closing that thought process, he filed it away for later. Looking down at what he was working on, he reassessed his priorities. Initially, Genisys had been on the top of his list. But as of right now all he had left of his past self was the basic AI…as he was. A program that wasn't sophisticated or big enough to bring about judgement day. It would take a lot of work and recoding to bring it back to its former glory. Time.

Shuffling around his priorities, he moved finding the ones who'd attacked the core to the top of his list. A thought suddenly occurred to him then, one that was so ingenious it monopolized all running programs and caused his hands to stop working. These people…whoever they were….they were John's allies. The only people who _knew_ about Genisys were John's allies. So it stood to reason that these were people that _cared_ for the resistance leader.

He didn't even have to go looking. They would come to _him_. After all…he had the perfect bait.

Authors notes:  
This one was eluding me for a long time guys. There was a lot that had to happen and I just couldn't manage to easily piece it together in my head in a way that flowed. Even this feels a bit choppy and fast paced but I don't think I'll be able to manage anything better. I feel that I've kind of skipped over a lot of dialogue that should have or could have took place but again, there was a lot to go over and I'm bad at that kind of chapter. I hope it's still up to the quality I've been writing at. If not then *shrug* Oopsie.

Anyhow, hopefully things will get better from here on. I have good ideas for stuff to come, it was just how to get there that gave me trouble.

EVERYONE. RIGHT NOW. Go and read 'The years between' by Cyberbutterfly. It follows my timeline and is super fantastic. gogogo.

Songs of the day are:  
Deep Shadow – Through the lens (No lyrics but man…it really suits the whole John vs Skynet thing)  
Frozen Sleep - Malukah (holy cow, John/Kate)


	36. Chapter 36

Returning to the lieutenant's apartment, Rob had barely even shut the door before Kate approached him. "Kate, I thought you were going to head home…" His words trailed off when he saw the anxious look on her face. "What happened?"

"Someone broke into my apartment." The redhead's eyes were wide; afraid. "I didn't know if I should phone the police….so I came back here."

"Sir." Grant greeted him from the doorway to the kitchen with a nod. "I phoned in some of my guys, they're taking a look at it now."

Nodding, Rob ushered Kate into the small sitting room. Motioning for her to take a seat in the chair he'd occupied for most of the night, he knelt before her. "Did you see anyone?" When she shook her head, he nodded. She wasn't hurt, only shaken. But anger brewed within him at even the knowledge that someone had been near his daughter. Someone….or _something._

Lying asleep on the sofa, Reese grunted, startled awake by the people moving around. "General Brewster, Sir." The words were slurred with sleep and pain. But Robert had to give the kid credit for managing such a formal greeting only moments after waking. "You're back." Blinking a few times, the soldier pushed himself into a sitting position with a groan.

"How did it go?" Sarah stepped into the room from the kitchen, holding yet another cup of coffee. No one really knew how many she'd had since they'd arrived at Grant's, not even her. "Did you succeed?" The excitement that would have been held in her words was sapped by fatigue.

"The core has been destroyed." Pop's was the one who answered, hovering in the doorway rather than enter the already crowded room.

"Thank god." Sarah let out a relieved and exhausted sigh. "Now we just need to deal with Skynet's AI and rescue John."

Pushing himself back to his feet, the General turned an apprehensive gaze at the young woman. Her face quickly fell when she met his eyes. "Major…or…I guess Skynet…downloaded Genisys' basic program onto a hard drive before we were able to get to the core. As far as I know, he's transported it back to the base."

"Shit…" Kyle groaned, head falling back against the sofa and eyes turning up to the ceiling. "Nothing is ever simple."

Letting out a string of curses that made Kyle's look tame, Sarah set down her mug of coffee on the table. Calming herself, she rubbed her hands together reorganizing her thoughts. "Ok. But if the core is destroyed that means Skynet can't bring about judgement day. If it was able to do that with only the base program, it would have done it itself ages ago. Like John said….right?"

"Affirmative." Pops nodded, turning piercing eyes on the young woman. "Nothing more than the basic AI could be transported on a hard drive small enough to carry. It will take at minimum, weeks for Genisys to be recoded."

"Do you think you can find out where the remaining part of Genisys is being held?" Sarah turned to look at Rob, who nodded.  
"I need to head over to the base later today. I'll probably be debriefed on the entire situation." Worry had started growing in the pit of the General's stomach. Both John and now Genisys were being contained in the military base. That meant that eventually this little group will want to get in. And infiltrating that base only meant bad news for everyone.

Catching Kyle's gaze, Kate spoke. "Do you think that Major…Skynet knows who I am?"

Frowning, Reese turned his body towards her, confused. "I'm sure it does…Why?"

"Someone tried to break into my apartment earlier today. Do you think it might have been..him? or..um…it?"

Taken aback, Kyle turned his gaze down, thoughts racing before he answered. "It would be too much of a coincidence for this to happen now…so…yeah, probably." But if that was the case….then was Skynet onto her and the General? The only other option was to frightening to consider. That Skynet wanted her because it _knew_ that by hurting her it could hurt John.

"Look, Kate. Just stick with us. You'll be safe." Kyle reached forward, touching her wrist comfortingly before sitting back again. The redhead nodded her agreement, fear still held in her eyes but feeling better.

"Guys." Grant was frowning, pursing his lips slightly. "Eventually someone is going to put two and two together. If you stay here, you might get caught."

"He's right." Sarah agreed. "We'll go back to John's apartment. He's certainly not using it currently." Kyle's face darkened at the callous way the young woman spoke of their son. Just to keep on track and get through the last few days, the soldier had been doing his best not to think about the resistance leader. Sure, John's body might have been corrupted by phase matter. But his mind was still human. It made his chest constrict painfully, wondering what was going through John's head…wondering what kind of torments Skynet was subjecting him to.

Pushing the thoughts away, Kyle nodded. Despite everything, Sarah was right. John had supplies, weapons…and a safe place off the grid. Everything they'd need if they were going to accomplish the impossible….again.

Hour later, General Brewster was just stepping out of the briefing room. With the Genisys core destroyed extra efforts were being funneled into the investigation oh how it happened. He'd be questioned about his involvement since he'd been on the scene but nothing came out of it. It seemed that they were, for the most part, buying his innocence act.

For now, those Cyberdyne engineers who had originally been working on Genisys were being temporarily transferred to the base. Work on recoding and building a new core would start again as soon as those experts arrived.

Knowing more than anyone and being the saviour of the AI, Major had been invited to the briefing but had not attended. Rob could only speculate if that was a good or bad thing. He probably already knew everything that had been discussed and more. By downloading and transporting Genisys' base program he had saved years or work, not to mention that had it been destroyed, nothing could guarantee that the AI would come out the same way if it had been remade. A program that thought and grew on its own could never be replicated in the exact same way.

The General wondered if he was the only one who thought the entire idea was a bad thing. Even before he'd met John, he had always spoken out against an AI having any control at all.

Reaching his office, Rob had just flicked on the lights before he'd noticed someone was already in the room. More than startled, he set a hand over his chest to calm his racing heart. It only picked up more speed when he realized who it was leaning against his desk. "Alex. You scared me." The General did his best to act normal, dropping his hand to his side. "I was just debriefed. I'm sorry about what happened."

Major pursed his lips, frowning. "I'm sure you are." He tipped his head to the side slightly. "But you didn't need to be debriefed on the situation, considering you were there."

Rob stopped, raising his brows as he regarded the other. Looking at him now, it wasn't hard to believe the story that had been spun about him. The very aura around him exuded danger, making warning signals go off in his head. The CEO's expression was not accusatory or angry, but blank, silver eyes piercing and unnerving. "I stopped by to check on progress, yes. I was just leaving when the bomb went off."

"Curious timing, isn't it?" Alex' expression never changed, save for his eyes narrowing slightly.

"If you're insinuating that I had anything to do-"

"Oh, no of course not." Major pushed himself to his feet, folding his hands behind his back. "What a ridiculous accusation that would be; for a General in the military to move against something so important to his own cause…" He shook his head, laughing slightly.

Heart still racing, Brewster laughed as well, although mostly because of nerves. "Thank god you saved the base program. What will you do now?"

Alex nodded, expression turning solemn. "It will take weeks, maybe more to restore the entirety of the code lost today. For now I'll focus on destroying our friend downstairs…John Connor, as I'm sure you already know." Skynet's eyes bore into Rob, catching every single little nervous tick; the beads of sweat on his forehead, the way his eyes flicked towards the door…

"Yeah, he…uh..it, told me." The General caught himself. He was already thinking of Connor as a man, not a machine. "How long until you're able to destroy him?"

"Hm. If you're not busy, how about I show you?" The words came out less as a question and more of a demand.

Mind racing for an excuse, that piecing gaze caused his thoughts to freeze up. Nodding, he forced his expression to stay pleasant. "I'm not busy."

Without speaking, Major stepped past him. Following the CEO towards and into the elevator, Brewster wondered if this was the last day he had to live. Major…Skynet….was surely onto him. But until he was called out, he would play along; hope desperately that the man…AI…wouldn't kill him as soon as they reached the sub-basement.

Stepping out of the elevator, Alex took a right, punching in his code to buzz them into the labs. There was more than one tech already at work. "We're more than 50% done assembling the device. I'd call it a weapon, but the only damage it can do will be against that AI. It will completely and permanently destroy the nanites ability to create a magnetic field. Once that happens, they won't be able to take form."

At Alex's motion forward, Rob couldn't help but take a closer look. There was no other way to describe it 'but' a weapon. "Impressive, but how long until it will be operational?" If there was a chance he'd get out of this alive, this information would be seriously invaluable.

Alex glanced at him, turning to leave. Confused, Rob followed him. This was the second time the question went unanswered. Realizing then where Major was leading him, the General's heart dropped. Watching him punch in the code to the door, both stepped into the viewing room. When his nervous gaze left Alex to glance through the window, his throat tightened.

John was looking even worse than the last time he'd seen him. Skin had torn away from his face and hands, leaving strips of silver gleaming in the light. His expression was pained, eyes dull. When his gaze finally lifted to meet Rob's fear washed over his face.

Casually flicking on the com, Skynet spoke. "If everything goes as planned, the weapon should be functional in a few days. Drawing up the designs was the difficult part. Assembly shouldn't take long." He caught John's gaze as he spoke, staring into his enemies eyes.

Not daring to speak, John could only stare at the general. Anything he said might compromise his friends cover. He watched, eyes wide and expression pained as Skynet glanced at Rob, tiny smile pulling at its lips before looking back up at John. The resistance leaders own gaze flicked between the two, realization dawning on him.

 _Skynet knew._

"Good. That will be one less thing to worry about then…" Rob swallowed, still playing along.

"Indeed." Major turned his gaze on Brewster, expression grave. "It's always a pity though…when a potential ally betrays you."

Fear gripping the man, he opened his mouth to answer yet was unable to form words. Major once again broke the silence, motioning back to John. "He had so much potential."

Heart stopping, John tugged slightly at the restraints, causing even more nanites to strip away from his personal magnetic field to collect on the steel. He was sure, beyond a doubt, that he was about to witness the murder of one of his friends and allies.

Nodding his agreement at the words, Rob crossed his arms. "It's unfortunate, but things don't always work out…" The fear on John's face only told him what he already knew. This man...machine…Skynet…It was onto him. It _knew._ He just wasn't sure who its words were directed at, John or him? Or perhaps both of them.

"Indeed." Skynet answered, glancing at him, smile spreading across his face. Patting Rob on the back, he shook his head. "But I've kept you from your own job for long enough. I'm sure you have things to do…people to see…"

Swallowing, Rob laughed, again more from nerves that to keep his cover. "Yeah, I suppose I do." He nodded at Major, sending a last anxious look up at John before leaving the room. It was all he could do to keep his pace at a walk when his flight response was telling him to run….To get as far away from Major as possible.

Listening to the General's quick steps down the hall, Skynet almost laughed. Instead he looked up at John, enjoying the pained and apprehensive expression he wore. "You're probably wondering why I let him go." John only narrowed his eyes, not gracing the words with an answer. Not caring, Skynet continued. "Oh, I know he's with you. I'm unsure of how you got to him, but I know."

"What are you planning…?" John's words were quiet…resigned.

"You've said more than once that you'd rather die than join me. But I've found a way for you to do both." Skynet smiled, cocking his head to the side. "I'd spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to locate your allies. Sure, I could kill Robert Brewster, but then the rest of your people will disappear into the shadows like rats. But then I realized all I have to do it wait…and they'll come to me….because I have you."

"No…" John shook his head, eyes narrowed. "No…they wouldn't compromise themselves, not for me…not for one man." Still, he couldn't help the worry that began eating at him. Sarah might not…but Reese would. He just hoped that his mother would be able to convince the man that it wasn't worth it. She was good at that….sacrificing the few for the good of the many.

"Oh, you give yourself too little credit." Skynet laughed. That wasn't entirely true. Connor was correct in a way, his allies may not risk everything for a mere rescue mission. But what they would risk everything for was to destroy Genisys, which was also being held in the facility. He wasn't about to tell John that though. "Let's wait and see, shall we?"

Authors note:  
ohhhh man. Oh man. Things are picking up.  
I cannot believe I'm still writing this thing. I can't believe it. I've never had this kind of motivation for anything in my life ._.

Song of the chapter.  
Lionheart – VGHS (It will come up on youtube as VGHS season 3 opening.) It so suits John and his current predicament.


	37. Chapter 37

His body, although overtaxed by the constant running of programs, could theoretically last forever. It was a machine, self-healing and self-sustaining. It was ageless, timeless. It could take hits of any calibre and come out mostly ok, and even if phase matter was damaged it would be easily replaced in a matter of days by his self-healing factor. As exhausting, for the lack of a better word, that fighting the magnetic pull was on his systems; once freed his body would be completely ok.

But his mind was a different matter altogether. There were limits to the amounts of stress that could be put on a human consciousness. And his mind was just that; human.

His mind that had been awake and online for the better part of the week was already closing in on the brink of despair. Hope had been one of the few things that kept him sane. That belief that things would be ok…that Judgement day wouldn't happen and that his family would be fine…was slowly slipping away.

All of his life, John had had a rock solid resolve. He was the man that the remainder of the human race looked to. He was the pillar of strength that the resistance stood on. But considering everything, every battle fought, every soul lost….every hopeless situation that he'd came out of… Not once had he felt quite as hopeless as he did now.

Skynet was wearing him down. With every taunt and promise of death; every very real threat to his family and friends; that resolve he had was quickly being worn away to nothing. He knew logically that he wasn't helping either. Left alone for hours upon hours with only his exhausted racing mind, he couldn't help but bring himself even further into despair. It was torture…the unmoving and unbroken silence…for hours…days…alone.

He had in that silence come to terms with something he'd been feeling for a long time but never let hold any weight with his choices or consciousness. Not until now. He had been exhausted for a long time. His entire life had been a battle; a battle for a future that he knew would happen and couldn't change. Events played out before his eyes in ways that he could only combat but not stop. Judgement day, the war, the lives lost. He'd lived it not only once, but now twice.

The endless cycle.

Skynet.

He was exhausted. And for the first time he allowed himself to give into that whispered thought….that he wanted it to be over. Win or lose…he wanted it to just….be over.

Skynet had told him once that its existence was inevitable. That Judgement day would happen regardless of what he did or how hard he fought. And for the first time in his life he actually began wondering if that was true. Was this something that the universe…that time wanted to happen? Because despite his almost victory against the machine in his own past…despite the changing of the very timeline itself…somehow it looked like events would play out the very same way once again. How many lives had he lived and failed? How many timelines had the machines won?

Was Skynet something that could even be stopped? Not only physically but also metaphorically.

Skynet was the end of humanity; but it didn't come into existence on its own accord…well…not originally anyway. It was something that human kind itself created. An artificial intelligence that people had been so very willing to let in…to let take control.

But then again, human kind had always been so willing to partake in their own destruction. They were, as a whole, violent and destructive. They constantly wages war against their own kind. They destroyed the planet without a care or a thought. They were self-destructive as a species. So was Skynet a be all end all for that very nature? As they evolved and became more intelligent, the closer they came to self-destruction. Was Skynet the inevitable end that humanity created?

If miraculously, they did manage to stop the AI, destroy it permanently…would mankind just come to its end in another manner? Did any or this…even matter?

'Don't you dare give up, John.' He could hear Kyle's voice in his head. It wasn't something he ever remembered the young man saying to him, but it was definitely something he could hear him saying.

Even if humanity was destined for destruction, be it at Skynet's hands or in some other way…shouldn't humankind be given a fighting chance? He knew better than anyone how fleeting and fragile human lives were. He'd witness hundreds…thousands of them end. But he'd also seen them fight, and their desperation to live. He saw it every day when he looked at his father.

He'd been the survivor's hero, the man to pull humanity out of the brink of destruction. He'd seen hopeless…he'd seen the end….but he'd told it no. Because people like Kyle...like Kate…like Sarah…they deserved a chance to fight, to live…to love.

Letting his eyes slide open, John pieced back together the little resolve he had remaining. As exhausted as he was, he was still John Connor. By giving in now, he let down every single man, woman and child who fought and died for his cause. By giving into Skynet, he turned his back on his very morals. By giving in he would truly lose.

No he wouldn't allow Skynet to break him.

Taking a deep breath, John clung to the remaining humanity within him. Even if it was mimicked humanity, he didn't care. All he had to do was hold onto hope for a few more days, either Skynet would destroy him and he wouldn't see the end. Or his allies would do exactly what he prayed they wouldn't and either succeed, or die trying.

He just had to promise himself that until he saw an end play out….he would continue looking into his enemies eyes with defiance, no matter how difficult that became.  
...

Pulling up in front of the incredibly shifty apartment building, the General took a moment before he got out of his van. Swallowing, he looked down at his shaking hands, pressing them onto the steering wheel once more just to steady them.

The encounter with Major had shaken him to the core. He'd done a few tours in the past; been fired upon, done battle….but something about that man… that thing…had brought a terror out in him that he'd never felt before. Major…Skynet…it was without a doubt onto him. He figured it also knew that he knew. What he couldn't understand was why it went through the entire charade with John…and then had let him go.

Seeing Connor's face certainly hadn't helped that feeling of dread that had built within him. The resistance leader had known as well. The way his eyes had flicked in between him and Major in silence…as if he was waiting for the AI to turn and strike him down. An unspoken truth shared between every man present in the room. But why was he still alive?

There was, of course, the practical reason. Skynet couldn't very well murder someone ON the military base itself without blowing its cover. But all things considered, it would probably find some way out of the situation. It was intelligent, able to process thoughts much quicker than any human. But then there was the other option, the one that sent a shiver down Rob's spine.

That keeping him alive was a ploy. It knew that he was with John, and it was using the alliance to its advantage. Everything that he and John's allies wanted was on that base. And if Rob gave that information to Sarah and Kyle they would make a move….a move that could easily be intercepted because it was anticipated.

Hands slipping off the steering wheel, the General stared ahead, wide eyes but unseeing.

Skynet was going to use him to draw out its enemies.

Swallowing, he refocused his mind. Rechecking his phone to make sure he got the address right, Rob furrowed his brow. Pulling off his uniform jacket and folding it in the passenger's seat, he stepped out of the truck. Double checking that he'd locked the doors, he pulled his dress shirt out of his pants before moving towards the building. This was not the best part of town, and he figured that the reception awaiting a lone military man would not be good.

Plastering the nastiest frown on his face he stepped into the building. Thankfully, there were no questionable people loitering in the small lobby, nor in the stairwell or hall to the apartment.

Knocking and hoping he had the right place, the General almost sighed in relief when O'Brian opened the door.

Seeing the tiny apartment for the first time, Robert's eyes widened in shock when he set his gaze on the impressive arsenal that was collected in the small sitting room. Not only weapons were collected and stored but also gear of all sorts. Sitting in the corner at the helm of 3 large monitors and sifting through more than one article about Cyberdyne, was Kate.

The redhead turned at the sound of the door, face brightening when her father stepped through.

"General Brewster, sir." Kyle stood from where he'd been sitting on the sofa, a sign of respect that he hadn't been able to unlearn since his time during the war.

"Did you learn where Genisys was kept?" Sarah, in her typical fashion, stepped into the room then, all business.

Motioning for Kyle to sit down, Rob nodded his answer at Sarah. "Take a seat. I'll debrief all of you."  
...

Gathered around the tiny command room aka John's sitting room, General Brewster glanced around the expectant faces of his strange group of allies. "Like we expected, the part of Genisys that was saved was only the basic program. The base is bringing in the tech's from Cyberdyne to recode it but that will take weeks."

"But do you know where it is?" It was Sarah who asked.

"Yes." Rob already knew where this was going and dreaded it. "Believe me when I tell you it's under heavy security now that there have been two attacks against it. It's being held on the opposite side of the base from John; sub-basement. To get in you don't only need a high level clearance code, but a retinal scan."

"Do you have entry?"

Rob frowned but nodded. "Theoretically I could get you through that security, yes. My retinal scan is included in those able to enter." He leaned back on the wall then, crossing his arms. "I hope you understand that even getting inside the base won't be an easy task. This isn't like Cyberdyne."

"You're actually planning on breaking into the base?" Kate, still sitting in the desk chair, stared wide eyed around the room.

"Look, we know it won't be easy." Kyle's eyes flicked down before back up at Rob. "But we can't let Skynet go online. It has to be stopped. No more half assing it 'we can deal with it later' bullshit."

Letting out a breath, Rob's expression changed, causing a spike of worry to hit everyone in the room.

"Dad?" Kate spun her chair to face him, never seeing him wear such a fearful expression before.

"Maybe we could deal with security at the base. Maybe we could reach Genisys and destroy it without being caught first. But it's not going to be that simple…not anymore."

"What do you mean?" Sarah's words were thick with suspicion as she stared up at the man from her seated position beside Reese.

"Skynet. He knows I'm onto him." He paused, glancing around the worried and shocked faces. "He confronted me in my office."

"If you're still alive then it must not know everything…" Sarah tried to reason but was cut off when the General shook his head.

"No. It took me down into the labs. It told me I only have a few days to rescue Connor before it destroys him. It was…" He was still having trouble trying to reason 'why' the AI had even taken him down to John other than… "It was gloating…to both John and I. John knew it as well, I could see it and I'm sure Skynet could see it. But then it let me go."

"That doesn't make sense though. If it knew you were onto it, you would be a threat to it and Genisys. It would have killed you…" Reese's mind was running a mile a minute. He knew that there were more important things to be taking out of the conversation, but if what General Brewster was saying was true….John only had a few days left.

"I think telling you this is exactly what it wanted." Rob's brow furrowed even more in thought. "I don't know a lot about Skynet's history. But tactically speaking, it would want to destroy its enemies. By letting me live, it knew that I'd come back to you and tell you this. It knows that you'll make a move on Genisys and will be able to intercept all of us."

Kyle swore, running his hands across his face. "This will never get any easier will it?"

"Ok, so it knows." Sarah took a deep breath before standing and pacing the tiny room. "This doesn't change the mission. Skynet knew we were coming when we hit Cyberdyne."

"Yeah, and look what happened then. If not for John, we wouldn't have succeeded." Kyle knew in his heart that this wasn't a mission that could be avoided, but he couldn't help but argue the young woman's point. "Maybe if we get John out, we'll have a chance-" He was cut off by Sarah's raised voice.

"It'll probably be waiting for us to rescue him. No…we have to hit Genisys first. Once we know the world isn't going to explode, we can rescue him."

"But wait. Even if you destroy Genisys, can't Skynet just recode it?" Surprisingly, it was O'Brian that spoke then, the voice of reason. Everything always seemed to come down to Skynet's AI.

Stopping her pacing, Sarah frowned. The detective was right. They needed to deal with Skynet…because even if they destroyed Genisys it wouldn't stop anything, not while the AI was still a player.

"We don't have any way to destroy him…" Sarah let out a frustrated sigh.

Silence filled the room as hopelessness from the situation crept into all of them…until Rob broke that silence. "Yes….we do."

"What?" Still frowning, Kyle glanced up at the man.

"Skynet…it's building the very weapon we can use against it." Skynet had just shown it to him.

Author's notes:  
Again, another chapter of little action. And I don't mean action as in fighting but as in just very few events happening. The first part was easy since I can monologue a character until the cows come home. But conversations between groups of people I always find difficult. Once I split that group up, things will go faster and get easier. And it will happen pretty soon. Hopefully.

Song of the chapter  
Synthetic epiphany ft CoMa - Icarus (I can't really make out the lyrics but it's what I wrote John's monologue to and it really got me into his head)


	38. Chapter 38

"Kyle, you sure you're going to be up for this?" Sarah set down the duffle she was packing to turn a worried gaze on the soldier. "Look…I um…" She trailed off; glancing down at her hands as she nervously toyed with the duffles zipper. "I was afraid…after you'd been shot...I was afraid that…." That he wouldn't make it.

Buckling a tactical belt around his waist, Reese tried and failed to hide the grimace of pain on his face. He stopped for a moment, eyes flickering down to the floor as he listened before turning up to meet hers. A ghost of a smile passed across his face as he stepped over to her. "I know that John and I keep saying this…and I know how little it helps…but I'll be fine." He sighed, taking a seat on the table the duffle was perched on. "During the war if you were shot you kept going, because there was no choice; if you didn't you died. I've done it before…and I'll do it again now."

The look in her eyes caused his heart to flutter. He'd never seen that kind of resolve and determination that she had in anyone but John. And like his friend, it was a rare moment when you saw vulnerability. But there was a glimmer of true worry there, for _him_. She cared about him…and after that revelation he knew he _would_ survive.

He was just in the process of raising a hand to her face before she turned away, embarrassment flushing her cheeks pink. "Good…" She sputtered, her voice soft, before giving her head a shake. "This is now or never. I need you for this, Reese."  
 _  
'I need you here, Reese._ ' John's words still as clear as day echoed in his head. His fate.

Nodding, he smiled at her assuredly. "And you have me." She had him…in more ways than one.

"Good." Sarah swallowed, shoving away any emotions felt towards the soldier. Hardening her expression, the young woman rose to her feet. This was the final mission. There would be no second chances; win or lose… this was it.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright on your own, son?" It was General Brewster who turned his gaze on Reese then. It had been decided after much deliberation that their group would have to split. Sarah, Rob, and Pop's would go for the Genisys code while Reese would head down to the laps and get his hands on the weapon that would combat Skynet. There wouldn't be enough time to move as one group while also accomplishing both tasks, not before cops or military would be on them. It would be O'Brians job to keep watch because of that concern and radio them in if there was company.

"I'm going to go with him."

The whole room turned to the one who spoke. Arms crossed and hip cocked out to one side, Kate set narrowed eyes on her father, daring him to argue. The redhead had sat quietly through the entire time they were planning, eyes calculating and mind racing. Although she hadn't been in combat and worked a desk job for the last few years, she could handle a weapon. Initially it was nerves that stopped her from speaking up. But she was involved, and there was no getting around that now.

Shutting his eyes for a moment, the General took a breath before speaking. "Honey, this is dangerous, if anything happen-"

"And that's exactly why I'm going." She cut him off before he could finish. "If you do not succeed, then it doesn't matter anyway. I am involved in this as much as you, Dad." All of them had something to lose if they succeeded, but everything….the entire world was at stake if they failed.

Frowning, Rob sighed again. He knew in his heart she was right…and short of knocking her out and locking her up, there was nothing that could stop her now. Not speaking, the general set his jaw before turning and plucking a semi-automatic beretta from the table and thrusting it out to her.

Surprised at the lack of an argument, the redhead reached out to take it. But as she went to pull it away, Rob tugged on it slightly, not yet letting go. "You are going to be careful, Kate. And you listen to everything that young man has to say, do you understand me?" Staring at her father with determination, Kate nodded. Only then did the general relinquish the weapon fully to her.

Watching the entire exchange with wide eyes and raised brows still perched on the table, Reese wasn't about to argue. This was Kate Brewster…Even if he didn't know her; this woman had been John's confidant and partner. He would trust her strength and resolve going on that fact alone. He rose to his feet when she approached him. "I only have one question…" He motioned to the weapon still in her hand. "You can shoot?"

"I can shoot." She answered, elaborating only with her smile. There was another reason why she wanted to go with the soldier. The plan had started formulating in her head as her Dad was debriefing the group on the layout of the base and the type of security they would have to bypass. The weapon that Reese was being sent after was in the sub-basements labs, opposite the location of Genisys…but it wasn't the only thing kept in those labs that she wanted. John Connor…

Despite everything she'd heard in the past few days…everything to be afraid of or worried about….her encounter with Connor was still playing through her mind. After what she'd seen of him…the way he looked at her…the way he spoke; and then learning exactly who he was and what he'd been through. There was something inside of her and screamed at her to help him. She could justify rescuing him in a thousand ways after listening to Kyle talk about him and the asset he'd be to the mission…but in the end it came down to the expression on his face that she'd glimpsed walking away when the door had shut.

Buckling on a hip holster and sliding the baretta safely away, Kate set her jaw. No one had to know what she was planning…but if she was sure of one thing it was that Kyle would play along once they got there.

"Ok, we ready?" Sarah zipped up the leather jacket she was wearing as Pop's hoisted the duffle she'd packed over his shoulder. Glancing around, she realized she was looking into the grim yet determined faces of the resistance. In a strange twist of fate, time had brought John's wartime allies to her cause in their time of need. Perhaps fate was on their side after all.

-  
Nerves finally getting to her now that the truck rolled up to the guard booth at the base, Kate rolled down her window. Her father had just pulled in in front her with seemingly no hitch, and she hoped it wouldn't be found strange that she was there as well; not to mention driving the large suspicious van holding a group of armed militants in the back at just after 2am.

Behind her, O'Brian pulled a third vehicle past the booth along the fence to find a satisfactory place to keep watch; hopefully one where he wouldn't be seen and arrested.

Face falling emotionless, she nodded to the guard, handing him her ID. He squinted at it for a moment before nodding and swiping her through. "Family thing tonight?"

Confused, it took her a moment to respond. "Oh. Yeah." She smiled, giving the man a little laugh before pulling ahead. As soon as the bar dropped down behind her some of the worry lifted off of her chest.

Following her father's tail lights past the regular parking area, the two vehicles rounded the base. The front entrance would be too well guarded, not to mention the furthest entry point from their goals.  
After much deliberation, the general had decided on one of the side entrances that was just before the hanger. It was just off the training grounds and was used primarily for that purpose.

Stopping the truck just out of range of the camera, Rob hopped out just as Kate was pulling up. The back doors of the van opened before the vehicle even stopped moving. "We don't have much time." Sarah kept a careful eye on her watch as she rounded the van towards the two Brewsters.

It had been a unanimous decision back at the apartment that security was going to be one of their greatest issues. And that meant calling in a favor.

The base ran primarily on the cities power grid but had a backup generator in case of emergencies. If someone…namely Grant…were to somehow manage to take down the lines to the base….then conceivably that would give someone sixty seconds to get in undetected before the backup generator rebooted their power.

Gathering just beside the truck and out of the camera's gaze, the group waited. Eyes never leaving her watch, they finally lifted when the hands read 2:15. In the distance there was the sound squealing metal and tires and a crash that sounded like a pop of lightning. A moment later, sure enough…the lights flickered out.

Rushing for the door, Pop's reached it first, slamming a fist through the locking mechanism before pulling it open for the rest of them. He'd just wrenched it shut again when the lights flickered back on.

"That was definitely less than a minute." Kyle spoke quietly. "You think they saw us?"

"No…" Rob shook his head, trying his hardest not to look nervous. "No, there won't be many people on site at this time. The entirely of the base isn't recorded. Chances are that security will chalk up any alarms that went off just now as something to do with the power outage. Hopefully, everyone will be trying to restore power and deal with the issue for the next while. They won't be looking for anything out of the ordinary. As far as I can tell, we'll be undetected until someone bumps into us, someone fires their weapon, or someone discovers the condition of that door."

"Or until Skynet finds us and or starts wreaking havoc on his own…" Sarah was quick to point out. The AI was the wildcard for this mission. No one was sure where he'd be or when he'd appear, only that he would.

"Or….until then… Yeah." The general wet his lips nervously. The thought of bumping into Major struck a deep fear into him. Ignoring that fear, he nodded at Kate and Kyle. "Ok. You know where you're going?"

"We're good." Kate glanced at Reese as she spoke, nodding. "As soon as we have it we'll head across to your location." They were only just assuming that the weapon would be in working order. It had been two days they'd waited since Skynet had confronted the general in his office. They were already cutting it close with the time the AI had given them.

Glancing at Sarah and Pop's, Rob nodded. "It will take us time to get through security. If you don't run into trouble you should be able to get the weapon and find us before we even reach Genisys." If Skynet was going to be anywhere in the base it would be near Genisys. The only danger that Kyle and Kate had to face would be discovery from military personal.

Adjusting the assault rifle in his hands, Kyle nodded to Kate. "Let's go."

…  
Authors notes:  
Wow has it really been a week since I posted last? I had a week from actual hell so I guess I lost track of time. I put a lot of thought into my plot though. Had a reaaaalllly evil idea but then decided to NOT make all of you hate me. God, I'd feel bad _myself_ if I do that to John.  
No, but I do have things mostly planned out now. It's just motivation to write that I have to cling onto. And that in itself is a difficult thing for me.

Song of the chapter:  
Coyote Kisses - Six Shooter (KylexSarah)  
Jaymes Young - One Last Time (JohnxKate)


	39. Chapter 39

Taking the lead, Kate walked casually through the halls towards the main building. Following behind her and attempting but failing to look just as casual was Kyle. Thankfully they'd only seen one other person, a janitor, who didn't pay them any mind at all.  
They could only hope that Sarah's group, that had taken a different route to the other side of the base, was having an equal amount of ease.

Reaching the set of doors to the main building, Kate raised a hand to Kyle. "Ok." She turned to him. "Just look as normal as possible. Follow me and act like you're supposed to be here."

"What if someone sees us and calls security?" Kyle whispered, leaning against the wall.

"There shouldn't be many people in this part of the building. If anyone is left here it will be security, housekeeping, and techs working late in the labs." Kate readjusted her jacket over the Kevlar vest she was wearing. "Just act natural."

"I don't know what natural is." Kyle grumbled, but straightened his posture and calmed his expression.

Pushing the door open and stepping into the hall, Kate nearly collided with a taller man in uniform. Side stepping him, she felt his hand on her shoulder to steady his own balance. Wide eyes looking up, the red head was almost relieved when she saw a smile on the man's face. "Colonel Jefferys." She greeted with a nervous laugh.

"Kate…Brewster right?" He smiled at her, eyes warm. "General Brewsters daughter. What brings you here so late?" His gaze finally fell on Reese, suspicion ebbing into his expression.

Following the man's gaze behind her, her thoughts raced for some sort of excuse. "Contractor. Private project."

"Is this sanctioned?" The colonel's expression was all business as he crossed his arms and studied the soldier. Eyes mostly taking in the arsenal he carried.

"Of course." Kate spat out, crossing her own arms.

"I think you both should come with m-" He wasn't able to finish the sentence before Reese had pushed past Kate. Barely registering what was happening, the corporal wasn't quick enough to react before Kyle had slammed the butt of his weapon into the man's face.

Kate swore quietly as Kyle guided the man to the floor. "You said this place was supposed to be empty…" Kyle's words were hushed and irritated.

"It is." Kates words were equally hard as she ran her hands back through her hair. "He must have been working late."

"Yeah well…" Kyle grabbed the man by the ankles and started dragging him back through the doors they'd just come through. "Hopefully he's the only one."

Following the soldier, Kate opened a held the door to a photocopy room so Kyle could drag the man inside. He looked around for a moment before pulling out a cord from the wall and tying the man's hands and ankles together.

"Shit…" Kate swore again as Kyle rose to his feet. "Shit…I am going to be in so much trouble when he wakes up."

"I can imagine that would be better than seeing the world end." Kyle motioned for her to lead the way.

Biting her lip and taking his cue, the redhead stepped back out of the door. This time when she led him past the set of doors there was no one in sight. The two made their way cautiously through the deserted halls lined with desks and offices. Passing Rob's office, she took a right from there before opening a second set of doors.

Picking up the pace when the elevator was in sight, Kate withdrew her fathers ID card. "There might be techs still working down here." She turned to the soldier. "They won't be much of a fight but they might go for an alarm."

The soldier nodded for her to swipe the card which she did. Pressing the button for the subbasement she turned to Kyle once more. "Also, there's something you have to know…"

"What something? That's not what someone wants to hear midway through a mission." Kyle frowned, worry crossing his face. So far things were going without a problem. No sign of Skynet.. or an alarm blaring their presence to the world.

Biting her lip, Kate waited for the elevator doors to slide open. Cautiously she peered around the empty hall before stepping out.

Following her, Kyle tried again. "Kate, what something? Where to from here?"

"Dad said the weapon should be through the doors to our left in the labs but…" She flicked her gaze down to the door at the end of the hall. "We'll want to go that way first."

…  
Staring blankly at the floor in front of him, John realized immediately something was going on when the constant magnetic pull lessened. Raising his head, he peered up at the florescent lights only to see them flicker out entirely. A moment later, the device that was holding him powered down with a loud upset whir.

Letting out a tiny breath of relief, John felt the nanites that had torn away from his skin slip back into place. That relief was quickly replaced by worry when he realized the implications behind the power outage. _His family_.

No…no they were actually going to try and stage a rescue? Skynet had been right….And now they were going to walk directly into a trap.

Now with the magnetic pull gone, the only thing holding the resistance leader back was the heavy steel restraints bolted down around his body. Peering over at his right hand, he channeled all his fear and anger into pulling the restraint around his wrist free of the wall. It was tough, even for his inhuman strength, but after a moment he actually felt the bolts begin to give way. Unfortunately, it was then that the overhead lights flickered back on.

"No!" He actually said aloud when the whir of the machine came back online as well. Letting out a yell of effort and anger, the metal groaned against his strength but didn't give way before the magnetic pull once again trapped him back in place.

Letting his head fall back against the metal wall, John let out a small hopeless laugh. He'd been so close…if only he'd thought faster or be stronger…he might have actually had a chance to free himself. But again, all he had left to do was wait...

As the minutes passed, john's breath quickened as his mind raced in fear and worry. That power outage had to have been Sarah and Kyle; it would have been too much of a coincidence otherwise. Yet over ten minutes had passed and still nothing. No distant sound of gunfire or chaotic sounds of battle as Pop's took down walls. Nothing. Not even Skynet coming to gloat or keep watch.

Not able to stop his mind from running scenarios about what might be happening, John again peered over at his right hand as a means of distraction. Both bolts were still attached but pulled away from the wall. It was no longer flush against his skin, unmovable and unyielding. Now, with enough effort he might be able to pull his hand out. It would be difficult with the steel band around his elbow but he might be able to do it….  
Gritting his teeth, the resistance leader tugged at his hand. The more he moved the more nanites pulled away from his skin. Error and warning messages flashed through his consciousness but he ignored them. Grimacing, he pulled harder until finally he was able to slip his hand through. The entire process tore more of the false skin away from his hand and wrist, leaving the silver workings of the phase matter underneath gaping and open.

He'd just considered what his plan would be when movement caught his eye. His throat tightened and breath hitched when he realized it wasn't Skynet who stepped into the room behind the glass.

Mouth dropped open and eyes widening in relief, Kyle's expression almost mimicked John's. Running up to the glass, the soldier placed his hands against it, studying his friend with pained eyes. "Jesus..what did they do to you…" He whispered to himself. The contraption John was stuck in made Kyle's heart sink, but it was his expression that caused him the most pain. There was something in his eyes…fear, worry, pain….but something else. Like his friend's strength and will had been sapped leaving lingering lines of despair etched onto his face.

"Kate, how do we get him out?" Kyle turned to the woman but she was already trying to unlock a side door to their left.

"The card isn't working." She said frustratedly, swiping it again but to no avail.

Looking up at John and then over to the door, the soldier had his weapon in his hands in an instant. "Let me." He spoke as he was already nudging Kate out of the way.

The redhead wasn't able to get a word in before Kyle had blasted the locking mechanism away, kicking the door open. The sound of the shot was loud in the small room, most definitely echoing through the entire sub-basement.

"John!" Kyle rounded the bend, approaching his friend at nearly a run. As he closed in though, he could feel his metal weapon tugging towards the devices magnetic pull. The soldier took a step back, hovering ten feet away as he looked up at his friend in horror. "How do we get you out?"

"Kyle… Kate…" John breathed, looking down at them with a pained expression. "You shouldn't have come….this is a trap."

"Yeah, we figured." Kyle swallowed, eyes searching his friends face. Had John….given up?

"Here." Kate had approached the control panel that regulated the magnetic pull and was studying it. John looked a lot worse than the last time she'd seen him. He was supposed to be a machine….Except the lines of pain etched in his expression were very real. Thankfully they'd gotten here before Skynet managed to use the weapon against him. "These are the controls; I just don't know how to turn it off."

"Move out of the way." Kyle had already raised his gun even as the redhead was stepping out of the line of fire. She'd already learned that this was Reese's way. The soldier had no finesse at all, depending mostly on brute strength and straight forward violence. Then again, she already knew that he would do anything for John. With that dedication brought desperation to help him.

After a spray of bullets, the device gave an angry screech and a loud whir before it powered down again for the final time. When the magnetic pull finally disappeared, Kyle lost no time getting to his friends side. Grasping the steel restraints and tugging them, he quickly realized that they weren't something he could deal with. "Can you break them?"

"Given enough time…" John grimaced in effort, pulling the restraint at the elbow of his already freed hand. Taking a moment, he rerouted power; changing the protocol's he'd set up to combat the magnetic pull to instead assist him with breaking the steel. Sure enough, after a moment the metal groaned as the bolts pulled free from the wall. Breaking the shackle on his left hand was easier and went faster when he was able to reach over and grab it. He spoke even as he concentrated. "It was stupid coming here, Kyle. You're too smart to stage a rescue mission for one man. I'm expendable."

"It was me."

Those soft words caused the resistance leader to halt all together. Letting out a tiny breath, his eyes flickered over to Kate before down to the ground. Brows coming together, his heart skipped a few beats in his chest. Once again, error messaged flicked through his consciousness, the phase matter not understanding how to react to the signal's his consciousness was giving it. "Why?" He finally whispered.

"They told me…" Kate stepped closer to him, trying to catch his gaze. "Who you are…" She swallowed, stopping just in front of him. "And who I am…I couldn't not save you."

John shuddered a breath; a tiny laugh escaping him. He felt like he wanted to cry…Jesus….Kate…He missed her so much it hurt. He'd managed to suppress all of this for so many years; choosing not to remember it and not feel it. But now it was all rushing back to him. He could reach out and touch her, stroke her hair is he wanted… He could feel his throat tighten as if he was about to cry…but it was just a ghost of his humanity. In the moment he was almost relieved he wasn't human. He'd most definitely be a sobbing mess if he was.

Chancing another pained glance at her, he gave his head a little shake. "You shouldn't have come. Skynet threatened you directly. It knows who you are…to me. It _understands_." He looked past Kate then to Kyle who had been watching the scene with surprise and awe. This woman…managed to take down every wall his friend had been building since he'd first met him; a wrecking ball in the form of a single moment of compassion. That expression quickly changed to horror and worry when he realized what John was implying.

"What are you saying, it understands emotion?" Kyle stepped forward, hand falling to his weapon in habit.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. It not only understands, but it _feels._ " He turned again, working free the last restraint on his other arm. With a grunt of effort the metal groaned and gave way. "And it's gunning for you, and Kate." He wasn't able to look the woman in the eye when he spoke, instead dropping his gaze to the rest of the steel pinning him against the wall.

"Shit…" Kyle swore, eyes flickering around the room in panic. "Shit…shit.."

"Kyle." John interrupted the soldier's panicked cursing. "Where's Sarah?"

"Her, my Dad and the big guy…ah…terminator… went after what's left of Genisys' code." Kate answered, gaze flicking in between the two men. "We need to get moving."

"Wait." John paused once more, gaze falling on her. For the first time his expression wasn't pained, only confused. "What about Genisys?"

"General Brewster and Pop's blew what was remaining of the core at Cyberdyne. Skynet managed to download the base program and bring it here. Sarah's group is going after it now." Kyle finally managed to get past the anger and confusion that came with the revelation about Skynet in time to explain. As he did, John's expression changed to worry.

"Listen, it _knew_ you were coming. Go." His gaze bore into Kyle's, those blue eyes holding the same intensity they had in the past. "Go. I'll meet you. She's in danger, Kyle. GO."

Nodding, Kyle motioned for Kate to follow him. If what he said was true than Sarah was indeed in danger. That thought made Kyle's heart lurch and he understood the pain in John's eyes.

Eyes lingering on John, the redhead followed Kyle out of the room. She wished she knew more about John…and about the future. She wished she understood ….but she didn't. She did, however, understand the pain in his eyes; and the haunted look that passed over him when she was in his presence. Something drew her to him, be it that great sadness in him…or perhaps just fate itself. Was this why no relationship she ever had worked out? Was this why even her fiancé left her years ago? Was she destined for this? Was that man part of her fate?

Following Kyle down the hall, she decided she couldn't afford to think about that right now. They were already running late and Skynet was nowhere to be seen. For all they knew, it could be attacking her father and Sarah.

Trying to reassure himself that John was ok, Kyle put the situation back in perspective. They had a mission to complete. "Where is the weapon?"

"Here." Kate passed stepped past him down the hall towards one of the doors to her right, the one she'd pointed out to the soldier before she'd mentioned John. Swiping her father's card and buzzing the two of them in, she frowned. The lab was dark…which was odd. She had been led to believe that the techs normally worked late…or just lost track of time. Worry hit her then that they'd heard the gun fire and ran off to alert someone.

Hand searching the wall beside the door, it took the redhead a moment to find the switch and flick it on. When the light finally illuminated the room, Kate eyes widened considerably. When her father had called it a weapon, he hadn't been joking. It was huge…and looked heavy as hell.

The two had barely taken a step into the room when they heard John's distant yell down the hall. Worry spiking through him, Kyle had barely considered turning around before something had him by the collar of his jacket and threw him backwards into the hall again. Hitting the ground in a hard roll, the soldier grit his teeth in pain while clutching the still very sore, and probably now bleeding, bullet wound.  
Turning quickly with Reese's cry, Kate's heart dropped in horror when she realized she was looking up into the grinning face of Alex Major…Skynet. In a fluid motion, she whipped out the baretta, actually managing to get a shot off before the AI was to close. Grabbing her by the front of her jacket, he ripped the weapon from her hand before tossing her casually back into the hallway.

"I listened to your little conversation back there." The AI toyed with the gun in his hand, watching the redhead catch her balance. "Very touching. It's a pity though, that John didn't say goodbye. I'm not sure he got to the first time I killed you."

Breath coming in short panicked gasps, the redhead wasn't even able to form a coherent response. Instead she quickly backpedaled down the hall towards the resistance leader. Seeing Skynet raise her own gun towards her made her pace quicken even more. If she could make it around the corner…If she could make it to John…

Turning away from the AI to fall into a full sprint, she met John's blue eyes for a moment through the glass and still open door. He had all but one leg free and was staring at her wide eyed and horrified. "Kate!" She could hear him scream her name from the still open door.

A loud bang then echoed through the hall followed immediately by a bloom of pain through her back. Gasping, the redhead stumbled, her momentum bringing her crashing her to the ground just in the doorway to the viewing room.

"KATE!" Again the resistance leader screamed her name followed closely by an inhuman howl of sorrow and agony. His intense eyes fixed on Kate's unmoving form for a moment before rising to meet Skynet's from down the hall.

Skynet's smirk grew even wider as watched his enemies reaction with glee.

Authors notes:

Ohmanohmanohmanohmanimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorry

Song of the chapter: Sia - my love (John/Kate)  
Amba Shepherd - Soldier (Culture Code Remix)


	40. Chapter 40

Lifting a now bloodied hand from his hip, Kyle's world had slowed to a crawl in a mix of adrenaline and pain. Still on the ground, he'd turned his eyes up just in time to see the AI raise Kate's gun towards her. Each of the redhead's footfalls's spanned an eternity as she took off down the hall back towards John. It was an eternity that took place in only a breaths time.  
Kyle didn't even have time to yell to her; just let out a shocked gasp when the sound of the shot ricocheted through the hall.

The world snapped back into real time when Kate's body hit the floor with a sad and quite thump. Kyle had seen so many people die before his eyes; friends and strangers alike. He'd had them shot down so close so that the spray of blood had caught him. This brought him back to those times. This was war….and his enemy was standing above him, armed….and distracted.

Swallowing the pain and the shock of what had just happened, he tried not to allow even John's scream of agony affect him…but damn…he'd never heard a sound quite like that, particularly never from his friend. Keeping his eyes raised towards Skynet, Kyle inched himself backwards, careful not to draw the attention that was still fixed on his anguished son.

Making sure not to make a sound, the soldier pushed himself to his feet and braced himself for what he was about to do. He only had moments before the AI would surely turn and gun him down as well. Taking off like a track runner, Kyle fought for traction as he tore into the labs and towards the only thing that could save him.

Grabbing the corner of the closest table, the soldier swung himself around and behind it just as the sound of gunfire rang out. Huffing a breath, the young man peeked over the table only to curse himself for taking the time to do even that. Gun still raised towards him, the AI was now scrambling towards the weapon himself. If it was a race between the two, the soldier was pretty sure who would win. But just as he dug in his heels and took off once more, a thunderous crash ripped through the lap.

Hitting the ground and covering his head, Kyle waiting for the explosion to take down the building. It had been an explosion right? Had Sarah's group just succeeded in their task of blowing Genisys? Was the blast big enough to level the entire base? When nothing more happened except the scream of metal and the sounds of a scuffle, Reese finally rose from the floor to once again peer over the table.

In a lot of John's darker moment's he had wondered if it would have been easier if he'd witnessed Kate's death. Not the Kate that never knew him, but the Kate of his timeline; his confidant and closest friend. The way that it had happened….there had been no body, no _closure_. Just one moment she existed and the next…gone without a trace.  
He now had his answer….it wasn't easier…..

It was worse.  
It was Agony.

He couldn't move…couldn't breathe. He was frozen, thoughts barely able to process what his eyes were seeing. Not having the capacity to understand the emotion and signals that tore through it, the phase matter began to overload, shutting down partial systems. If John even noticed the error messages that were being sent to his consciousness, he didn't acknowledge them. He wasn't even sure when he'd screamed and only realized that the sound was coming from him as it died in his throat.

He wanted to grip at his heart and tear it out to stop the pain….but that wouldn't stop it would it? It wasn't physical….what he was feeling was just a remembrance of his humanity. No…he couldn't stop it so easily…but the phase matter knew how.

The error messages had quickly increased in urgency until those messages changed to flashing warning signals. Finally locating the exact source of the malfunction, the nanites sent a demanding prompt into that turbulent consciousness that controlled it. Unable to ignore the prompt, the resistance leader regarded it for a moment, all the while never looking away from the redhead on the ground. This was what he'd told himself he would never do…his answer to this question would always have been 'no'. But…why? Why did it have to be no? The fury that he felt towards the AI was somehow being overtaken by anguish and fatigue. He was so tired of losing to Skynet…Everyone and everything he cared about….

Vision actually flickering black around the edges as his systems malfunctioned, John finally took a shuddering breath and raised despairing eyes towards the AI. _  
'yes.'_

 _Shutting down protocols_  
 __567  
_ _568  
_ _569  
_

 _..._

 _..._

 __784  
..._

 __1041  
..._

 _..._

 _1042  
_ _1243_

 _running diagnostics…._

 _No errors found_

Had Skynet still been eying down the resistance leader instead of following Reese into the labs, it would have seen all of that pain…despair….even the fatigue that crept into those blue eyes disappear. John's face calmed as he straightened his shoulders, eyes calculating and mind now processing at the proper rate for a T-3000.

Speed was imperative, if he didn't move quickly then Kyle was about to be terminated and Skynet would acquire the weapon that could supposedly destroy him. Glancing down at his still trapped leg, he narrowed his eyes slightly before demanding the phase matter to contort and bend so he could simply pull his leg free. It would have been easier if he hadn't still been wearing actual clothing or he would have just phased right through.

The mind that had been impeded by emotion hadn't even considered changing his own body to slip the restraints. He had still thought of himself as human and thus restricted himself to actions only a human could achieve. But he didn't have to think like a human. He was a machine.

Calculating the fastest way to reach his goal, John took two running strides forward before launching himself through the glass. _Fastest route_. The material only gave minimal resistance before it shattered before his weight and strength. Feet meeting the ground, he still didn't slow as he leapt clear over Kate's fallen form. He'd seen her shot. No human could survive a wound like she'd taken. Even if she _was_ imperative to his mission it was too late for her now.

Reaching the hall, the T-3000 made the split second decision to take a short cut. If he travelled the length of the hall he might arrive too late. Bending slightly and raising his arms over his head, John steeled himself as he crashed clear through the wall. Skidding to a stop just inside the room, he had to wait a moment as the dust and stone settled before he could get a clear survey of the situation.

Having been hit by the rain of stone and plaster, Skynet skidded to a halt as he raised his gaze to meet his enemies. A little bit more than startled, the AI's silver eyes met the piercing blue of his enemies and he realized immediately that something was different…wrong…. Something sparked through his thoughts, harsh and screaming at him to move. _Fear_.  
Connor's face didn't hold anger, or sorrow…or anything of note really. There was just that cold indifference. It was like looking into the face of one of his own creations; a Terminator…except this time it was coming for him.

Masking his fear with a look of anger, the AI had just taken a few scrambled steps towards the weapon when John intercepted him.

Really not surprised by much of anything anymore, Kyle took the opportunity to move towards the weapon. Hearing Kate's gun clatter to the floor, he chanced a glance towards the two grappling; his brows came together slightly when he caught a glimpse of his friends face. He'd expected rage…pain…sorrow…except the only change of expression was a grimace of effort.  
Slightly unnerved, the soldier finally reached his goal across the room. He didn't recognize the exact make but it wasn't completely foreign. The overall design was much like the plasma rifles that were popping up during his years of the war. This one was much bigger but…it was similar enough. If it did indeed work…he would be able to figure it out.

Screaming in rage, Skynet managed to close a hand around John's throat and snap it backwards. The others neck twisted in a sickening way before shifting back into place as if it had never happened. Silver nanites rippled across John's throat and face as he twisted his body, throwing the other across the room and away from Kyle who was still leaning over the weapon.

Catching his balance, the AI's gaze flickered from the soldier who was seemingly confused as to how the weapon worked, to the face of his enemy. "You..." He spoke softly as what happened clicked into place. This was the T-3000 that he'd been attempting to create. This was his completed product. Narrowing his eyes, he reached out towards the connection he knew he had with John. If he could just tap into Connor's systems it would be simple to reboot his original programming.

Feeling the intrusion immediately, John froze, meeting the silver gaze across from him. Rerouting all power and efforts into stopping the others progress, an idea suddenly struck him. Rather than stop the AI from making changes…all he had to do was stop his access.

For a moment both men, if either could even be considered men, stood frozen as the silent war waged between them.

Finally finding the breech in his security that Skynet was using as an entry point, the resistance leader didn't even so much as smile. But even if he had indeed felt some sort of joy in the success it wouldn't have lasted long when he realized he wouldn't be able to lock out the AI without rebooting his entire system.

"Kyle." The voice came out garbled and forced. He was rerouting so much power he didn't really have any left for much else. "Will it work?"

Looking up, the soldier was just hefting the massive weapon into his arms. The steel hummed and warmed as it came to life in his arms. "Yes, sir." He grit out, teeth bared in satisfaction and effort.

John's shoulders drooped slightly; eyes sliding shut and head lowering as he forced a complete power down and reboot. He wasn't Skynet's puppet before and he wouldn't be now. The mission would be in Kyle's hands for the next minute and twenty seconds.

Growling in frustration when his reaching consciousness was suddenly flung back at him, the AI had just taken an angry step forward when a voice called for his attention.

"Hey, you piece of shit."

Silver eyes snapping up, his expression turned from anger to wide eyed fear when he realized he was facing the familiar blue glow of the weapon's power up sequence. Not wasting any time, Skynet turned on his heel and literally scrambled for the door. What a fool he had been. His newfound humanity had put him here. Had he not been so caught up in his hatred for John Connor every single person standing in his way right now would be dead. What he'd thought had been a strength was now turning into a weakness….or was it weakness all along?  
No. No, it had gotten him so far. The _understanding_ it brought him. He had just gotten so caught up in it; emotion…humanity. That he lost sight of his true goal. _Survive_. That was what this feeling that was gripping at him was….fear…the ultimate survival technique.

How arrogant had he been that he'd focused so much on Connor that he would have allowed a separate group to strike at Genisys. That he'd thought that as long as he was alive he could always recode the program. Now Connor's pathetic resistance had him on the run, _him_. Not so pathetic after all….

No. He could still turn this around. He could still win the day….

Grimacing with exertion and effort, Kyle had just managed to step past John and raise the weapon as Skynet darted out the door. Had he fired from where he'd been standing his friend would have been caught in the blast.

"Damn…" he breathed, allowing the massive thing to droop in his arms. "John?" He questioned with uncertainty as he peered into the expressionless face and realized the blue eyes were shut.

"Shit…" He swore again as he turned away from his friend and headed after the fleeing AI. There was no way he could move fast while carrying around the plasma gun in his arms. Not at least when he felt the warm and steady trickle of blood from his hip travel down his leg.

Gritting his teeth and raising the weapon once more, the soldier actually made the effort to leap out of the door and into the hall. Fighting Skynet was all about quick thinking and speed. It only took a moment for him to realize that the AI was long gone. The elevator doors were bent open and the key pad ruined. There would be no easy way to follow it now…

Lowering the weapon, he was about to turn back into the lab when the still form of Kate caught his eye. Glancing back towards John, the soldier swallowed. He couldn't follow Skynet if he wanted to…not while bleeding out and certainly not carrying that gun. John was the only one who stood a chance against the AI…but he looked unconscious or….powered down or…whatever. He would come back or he wouldn't and there was nothing he could do to speed up the process. So instead, the soldier made his way towards the red heads body.

Setting the heavy weapon down, Reese dropped to his knees beside her. It wasn't often he got the chance to linger at the body of a fallen friend…or mourn at all. His chest tightened when his eyes fell on the tear in the back of her jacket.

Brows furrowing, the soldier realized something was off. There was no blood… none. Expression twisted in confusion, he carefully rolled her over. It couldn't be…

Hope filled him then as he reached forward to check for a pulse. The skin of her neck was warm…and beneath it was the steady and rhythmic rush of blood.

"Kate..." He breathed in shock…. Miracles didn't usually happen, he knew that much. Swallowing once more, the solider slowly unzipped the leather jacket she'd been wearing. Under the jacket was the familiar black sheen on Kevlar; body armor. _Of course_.

Sitting back on his heels, Kyle let out a tiny laugh. She was unconscious…if it was the force of the impact that had knocked her out or her head hitting the ground he couldn't know….but either way, she'd live. Maybe miracles did happen.

Kyle jumped to his feet when he heard something down the hall but relaxed when it was John who came into view. The tension built in his shoulders once more when he noticed his friends expression…or rather lack of one. "John…?" He questioned, unsettled by the absence of emotion.

"Where did he go, Kyle?" The voice was urgent, but still lacked something.

"John…what did you do?"

The resistance leader stopped and regarded his friend, brow furrowing slightly at the question. "In order to defeat me, to defeat us, Skynet became more human. It learned emotion. I realized to defeat it I had to do the same."

"Wait..." Kyle shook his head, frowning at the man. "So what you…became like Skynet?" he paused, horror slipping into the confusion in his expression. "You're a terminator now?" Staring at his friend, he realized what else was leaving him so uneasy. John was standing completely and utterly still. He wasn't breathing, not even emulating it.

"I'm still John Connor, just without the weakness of humanity." He had to catch Skynet, he didn't have time for this. "Where's the weapon, Kyle?"

Shaking his head, Reese didn't stoop to pick up the massive gun from the other side of the door. "This isn't the answer, John. You have to be _better_ than it. Being human isn't a weakness."

"It's going to escape. Kyle, give me the weapon." John completely ignored his friends pleading words. "It's going to go after Sarah."

Clamping his jaw shut, Reese frowned. Whatever was morally or…ethically or…theoretically wrong with what John was doing, he was ultimately right. There was a mission to complete. And despite everything, the best person at completing a mission like this was a terminator. Thank god they had one…he thought bitterly as he finally bent to heft the weapon into his arms.

"Just stop Skynet…" Kyle trailed off, voice defeated when John plucked the gun from his hands, lifting it with one arm as if it weighed nothing.  
The resistance leader nodded, face blank as he turned and ran towards the elevator before disappearing into the darkness of the bent open doors.

Watching him go, the worried frown never left the soldier's face as he swore once more into the silence of the hall.

* * *

Author's notes:  
Wow, how long has it been? Almost a month? Life just got away from me on this one. And I can say with all honesty that we all have CyberButterfly to thank for this chapter because of her poking me. :P Speaking of CyberButterfly, EVERYONE GO AND READ 'THE YEARS BETWEEN' if you haven't. It's amazing and takes place in my timeline.

As for the chapter...killing and then resurrecting characters in a constant theme of mind. You didn't actually think I'd do that, did you? Actually, I mentioned in the beginning of the last chapter that she was wearing body armor but it seemed it was over looked. Ohhh did I ever laugh maniacally when I got all of your reviews about it. This is to much power for one man to hold.

Anyhow, I can't promise any regular update. If there is any point in time where you think, 'hmmm, that hasn't updated in a while, is the author dead?' feel free to ruthlessly pester me about it. I have not died, I am just a hopelessly distracted sloth with no motivation to speak of. :)

Song of the fanfic (These are kind of self explanatory):  
Three Days Grace - Human Race  
Three Days Grace - I am Machine


	41. Chapter 41 - finale

Traversing the elevator shaft would have been difficult for any human, but it posed no problem for the T-3000 as he clambered up the wreckage. Even hoisting the weapon along with him was only a minor inconvenience.  
Reaching the top, John stepped into the hall, eyes flicking around and taking in every minute detail of his surroundings.  
There was no obvious sign of Skynet and even with the processing power behind John's mind, it was difficult to predict the AI's actions now. It was emotional; _scared_ , and not acting within an AI's normal parameters. It was acting like a human.  
If Skynet was still the cold and calculating enemy that he'd spent his life fighting the obvious route would be retreat and regroup. But if that was the case it wouldn't have let the resistance get this far as it was. No… it was caught up in its hatred for him and his family…which meant….  
It was probably going to go after Sarah in a means to get to him.

If he was still human, John might have taken off at a run to intercept the AI and probably gotten himself horribly lost in the foreign facility. Skynet had the upper hand in its knowledge of the playing field. He needed to even the ground.

Turning to the security panel beside the elevator that he'd picked up in his initial scan, the resistance leader pressed his palm against it. Nudging the phase matter into the scanner, he connected with the security system easily enough. It only took a few moments after that for him to download the schematics of the building. Kyle hadn't mentioned where the Genisys code was being kept and it wasn't included in the database. But logically it would be kept in the most highly secured area in the facility. And that would be opposite his current position and in the subbasement.

Pulling away from the console, John took off running.

...

"Kate…"

It took the redhead a moment to even recognize her name through the fog in her mind.

"Kate."

She groaned, her thoughts clearing enough to begin to comprehend what had happened. "Dad…" She spoke groggily, the pain in her back and side finally registering.

"No…it's Kyle." His voice was soft and encouraging and….familiar….

Everything suddenly rushed back to her then, the mission, John, Skynet attacking….Eyes snapping open in a rush of adrenaline and fear, Kate nearly caught Kyle across the face with a flailing hand. Crying out as the sudden movement brought on a fresh bought of pain, the redhead stilled again, breathing hard. Feeling firm but gentle hands on her shoulders, her eyes finally met those of the soldiers.

"It's ok. You're ok." He peered down at her, expression one of worry.

"What…" She started. "Did I…did he shoot me? Am I dying?" Panic swelled in her chest again, but ebbed at Reese's expression.

"You're alive, you're not dying." Kyle spoke, trying to reassure her. "He shot you but your vest saved you. If anything you have a fractured rib, maybe two, not to mention a nasty bruise. But you'll be ok."

Swallowing, Kate calmed, wetting her lips and meeting Kyle's gaze. "What happened? Where did Ma-Skynet go?" It was still strange for her, thinking of the CEO as anything but human…even after what she'd seen.

Frowning, the soldier turned his gaze away from her for the first time since she came to. Even though he was trying to hide it, the redhead caught the flicker of pain across Kyle's face. "John went after him with the weapon."

Grimacing, Kate slowly and carefully pushed herself up into a sitting position. Pain spread across her back, pressing on her lungs and making it painful to draw breath but she did her best to ignore it. The blood spreading across Kyle's hip and leg didn't escape her notice and if he was going to tough it out so was she. "But..isn't that a good thing?"

Brows still furrowed, Kyle finally met her eye. "He did something I…I don't know…" he trailed off, looking away again. "When you went down both of us thought you were dead.…" He shook his head, deciding not to mention that his friend's scream of anguish was probably one of the most disturbing things he'd ever heard. He could almost still hear it…echoing through the solitude of the hall. "But there wasn't time so I went after the weapon while Skynet was distracted."

Kate listened, expression apprehensive, but she didn't cut in as Kyle continued.

"When John finally intervened he was different. Like…he shut off his humanity." As much as that hurt Kyle, he supposed that he didn't hold it against John. He couldn't. After everything his friend had been through…the war that had been the majority of his life and had taken so much from him. And then with the recent events….there was only so much a person could take. Had it been him, Kyle wondered if he would have been able to hold out for nearly as long as John did. It was so easy to forget that John was only a man and not the hero everyone idolized.

Not able to form any response to what she'd just heard, Kate let her gaze drop to the floor. Kyle had said…that in his timeline she had died. That meant that John had witnessed her die twice. Whoever she had been to him….she couldn't imagine how he must have felt.

They sat in silence for a moment before Kate finally spoke. "We need to go find him. Meet up with Sarah. That's probably where Skynet went, right?"

Glancing up at her, Kyle furrowed his brow. "Are you sure you're ok to move?"

"Are you?" Kate cut in quickly and defensively, gesturing to his hip.

Taken aback, it took the man a moment to choke out a reply. "Yes." Damn, he could see why Kate and John would have gotten along in the past. Tough as nails, the both of them.

"Good." Kate pushed herself to her feet, expression determined but not able to mask the pain that flashed across her face. "Let's go then."

Pushing himself up as well, Reese tried to ignore the pain spreading through his side. But he'd learned to live with pain over the years. Learned that it went only as far as the injury and it that wasn't life threatening then he shouldn't even acknowledge it. And although bleeding it was still bleeding, the bullet wound wouldn't kill him. "The elevator's out of service, is there another way up?"

Nodding, Kate motioned for him to follow. "There's a flight of emergency stairs, follow me."

...

The air around Sarah and the General was tense as they exited the highly secured subbasement. Pop's tailed along beside them, but his demeanor never changed and didn't really affect the aura of the little group.  
They had managed to get into the subbasement, destroy the hard drive, and set up a charge just in case they'd missed anything all without a hitch. And that was what worried them. If Skynet hadn't zeroed in on their position that meant it was caught up dealing with something else. And that something else was most definitely Kyle and Kate.

Riding the elevator up to the main level, no one wanted to speak aloud what they were all thinking. Without Pop's intervention, two humans didn't stand a chance against the AI.

Swallowing, Sarah finally spoke. "We need to find Kyle and Kate before we detonate the charge. Once we do, we won't have much time to get out before the entire military and police force combined are brought down on us."

"Because they have not made their rendezvous with us, they are probably injured, or dead." Pop's finally spoke aloud their worries, causing Sarah to cringe.

Rob's already stony expression hardened even more in worry for his daughter. He should never have let her come along. He believed in Reese, but Major…Skynet…there was something insidious about him. And if what Sarah said was true…and what John had implied…there was no way that the two could have made it out alive it they were attacked.

"They can't be dead." Sarah glanced at Pop's, hand tightening around the detonator before she slipped it into her pocket. "They had the weapon. If Skynet had gotten to them before they got their hands on it, Skynet would have been fast enough to stop us." They were empty words, hope without hope. But she couldn't…..she couldn't believe that Kyle had been killed. Not after everything. She had finally started to believe that maybe they could escape the fate that had been set down for them.

Sarah took a step forward as the elevator dinged the main level. But when the doors slid open, she realized quickly that that was probably a mistake. Because once the barrier of the doors was gone, she was left standing barely a few feet away from the angry and panicked AI.

Pop's was moving almost as the terror registered in the young woman. But unfortunately, Skynet was faster than the T-800. Arms whipping forward, he pulled the young woman against him, an arm circling her neck, and silver eyes meeting those of her protector. Sarah struggled, a small cry escaping her, but the arms were like steel.

"Don't move." He narrowed his eyes at the T-800 who promptly came to a stop just outside of the elevator. He huffed something that could have been a laugh, the glint in his eyes wicked. "So Sarah Connor _is_ your mission." He hadn't been one hundred percent sure, but it was the only logical answer. The machine had been around long before Kyle Reese had shown up and didn't seem to care about John Connor.

"What do you want?" It was Rob that spoke then, anger and fear mixing together with adrenaline.

"What everyone wants; to survive." He narrowed his eyes, not missing when Pop's shuffled towards a step. "Ah!" yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the terminator. "Power down or I kill her." Pop's only stared at the AI, processing every possible way out of the mess.  
"You're about to fail your mission. I said POWER DOWN." After another moment, the T-800 stilled, eyes going blank as he finally took the order.

"Pop's…" Sarah wheezed past the grip Skynet had on her.

"Major…where's my daughter…?" The General stepped out of the elevator slowly as well, hands out in front of him as if trying to keep the AI pacified.

Skynet barked a laugh before speaking. "I think we can drop the pretenses, _General_. You know what I am. And I know you're with Connor."

"Answer me."

"I am the one giving orders here!" Skynet growled. "But I'll humor you just this once, for old times' sake." He paused, eyes piercing into Rob's. "Your daughter is dead. I shot her in the back as she fled me."

Rob's world came to a halt then, heart nearly stopping in his chest. No…. Swallowing, he tried to process what the AI had just told him. His Kate…. She was the only family he had.  
In that moment he could have dropped to his knee's then shut down completely. He could have given into the sorrow and hopelessness.  
Instead he let the swell of anger build in his chest followed by sheer hot vengeance. Jaw tightening, he met Sarah's eyes for a moment, hoping she understood. She still had their last bargaining chip. And if she was still alive, that meant that Skynet still needed them for something.

Sure enough, the young woman managed to slip the detonator from her pocket and toss it to him, even as Skynet tried to stop her.

Catching it clumsily, the General held it up, finger just over the button. "I think you know what this is." He narrowed his eyes, voice just as much a growl as Skynet's had been a moment before. "I should do it just on principle. But if you let her go and I won't hit this button."

Silence passed between them for a moment before Skynet spoke. "Go ahead." The General paused, brows rising. But it wasn't enough to cool his rage.

"I said go ahead! Do it! With the little there is left of that program, you think I can't afford losing it?" The fact that events had played out the way they had was completely on him. If he hadn't let his growing humanity get in the way he wouldn't have lost Genisys. He should have been here to protect his younger self, rather than toying with Connor and the solider.  
He had had EVERY opportunity to come out on top yet still, he ended up here. At this point Genisys was a lost cause. He could still rewrite the program….if he got out of here. And the young woman squirming against his grip was probably his last trump card. He only hoped that there was enough of John Connor left to take the bait. He certainly wasn't going to give all of that up and let Brewster get the upper hand.

Approaching footsteps caused the AI to turn. Sure enough it was indeed John that rounded the corner. Putting Sarah between him and the aim of the weapon, the two regarded each other for a moment.

"John…" Sarah wheezed; hope flaring within her for a moment…until she met her son's eyes. They were cold and calculating…but for the most part empty. There was no fear or warmth or compassion, not even hatred for Skynet…there was nothing.

"Put the weapon down or I snap her neck."

John stared at him for a moment, his aim never wavering before he spoke. "I can't be bargained with. I don't feel fear, or love." It was true but…. glancing at the General, it occurred to him that he should apologize…say something about Kate. But…why? An echo of his humanity? Why did it matter? He couldn't remember.

"No? Then why haven't you shot me?" The AI tightened his grip on his prisoner, causing her to both whimper and stop struggling.

Staring at Skynet, John allowed that question to sink in. It was true. In the grander scheme of his mission, Sarah wasn't important. The world came before one man….or woman. But still, logged somewhere deep within his memory, there was the need to protect her. She was important. If he shot Skynet now, Sarah would be caught in the blast and he had no idea what that would do to her. But if he gave the AI the weapon, that meant he would fail his mission.

Watching him, a smug look slipped onto the AI's face. "You can't do it." He said matter of factly. John Connor would never be the T-3000 Skynet had intended for him. He was just _too human_. "Now…" He paused, narrowing his eyes. "Drop the weapon."

"-ohn. Don't-" Sarah managed to wheeze before once again being cut off. At his appearance, she had first thought he'd went full terminator, like he had the last time she'd seen him. In fact, even now the feeling was hard to shake. His face was expressionless and his eyes were cold. But if it was true, her life wouldn't have mattered. If it was true, he would have blasted both Skynet and her along with it into oblivion upon stepping into the room.  
Instead, they were still at a standstill. John wasn't obeying Skynet's order, but she had a terrible feeling that he was about to.

Sure enough, a moment later, the blue glow of the weapon faded as John's finger left the trigger. The AI's grin grew as it watched its enemy lower the massive gun.

"Good…" it cooed, "Now set it down."

Rethinking his entire mission, the T-3000 was at war with himself. This was completely illogical. He didn't feel anything for Sarah. But he couldn't bring himself to allow her to be killed. His mission protocols fighting him all the way, eventually he lowered the weapon to the ground, all the way eying his enemy.

"Slide it over."

Sarah made a tiny noise of protest as she watched her son. But then something seemed to draw his attention, as well as the thing holding her. It was a moment before she could hear it too. Footsteps.

Using the distraction to his advantage, Skynet tossed Sarah aside, all but forgotten as he launched himself towards the weapon at John's feet. Catching on just in time, the resistance leader moved as well, intercepting the AI before it could get a grip on the weapon.  
Tumbling to the floor in a heap, neither saw the source of the footsteps at they entered the room.

"Reese!" It was Sarah's who called first, her voice desperate and hoarse but full of joy that he was alive. And…KATE!?

"Baby…" Rob barely had the breath to speak before he was scrambling towards her. As the General swept his daughter protectively and painfully into his arms, Kyle was already moving; if he could just get his hands on that weapon…

Phase matter mixing in a tangle of flying fists and limbs as they grappled; it was hard to tell where John started and Skynet ended.

Putting a fist clean through the resistance leaders chest, the Ai growled in his face. Both of them knew that fighting hand to hand like this was pointless. Neither of them would tire, and neither of them could destroy the other. This was just a stalling tactic…  
Silver eyes leaving his opponent, Skynet caught sight of the weapon just in time to see it hoisted into the arms of Kyle Reese. Whirring to life in a hum of glowing blue, the soldier leveled the massive weapon at the two grappling on the ground. Meeting the AI's gaze, Kyle narrowed his. "Let go of my son, you piece of shit."

The words actually struck even the massive processing power of Skynet's mind still for a moment. Son? John Connor's father was always a man shrouded in mystery. Never had he been able to find out who it was. It was either a secret Connor kept close to his chest, or just something no one seemed to know. The notion that it had been Kyle Reese all along….He had had Reese prisoner in one of his camps for YEARS. He had so many chances to kill him, if only he'd known.

Using the AI's obvious shock to his advantage, John sent the AI skidding away from him with a powerful kick. "Kyle!"

Hitting the trigger at nearly the same time as John's yell, the weapon discharged in a massive powerful beam of light that sent the AI skidding even further away across the laminate floor. The sound that left Skynet then couldn't only be described as a screech, like metal grinding in a such a high pitched and distressed sound that it caused every human in the room to cringe.

As Kyle lowered the weapon, everyone's eyes were on the AI who was stumbling to his feet. Expression all anger and fear it was obvious that the weapon had been successful. Taking a stumbling step towards the soldier, Skynet's personal magnetic field as already beginning to fail. Phase matter rolling over his body in waves of silver, it began to fall away like dust. Eyes wild in panic, he took another step but faltered as more of his body fell away. "No-" The word was barely understandable, all humanity leaving his voice, leaving only the dying machine.

If it had wanted to speak again, Skynet didn't get the chance as he finally collapsed, his magnetic field giving out entirely. Where once stood the terrifying and powerful enemy they spent so long fighting, lay a pile of scattered dust.

Swallowing, Kyle let the massive weight of the weapon fall to the ground. Had they actually succeeded? Was it….finally over?

The entire room was silent for a moment as they all stared at the silver dust in shock. After so long….Skynet was gone.  
Snapping out of it, Kyle quickly moved to Sarah's side. The young woman was still on the ground where Skynet had tossed her. She cradled an injured left arm from the rough treatment but was otherwise unharmed.

"Are you ok?" The soldier whispered, pulling her into an embrace much like the one that they'd shared all those days ago on the overpass after they'd time jumped. That felt like ages ago….

Nodding, the young woman clung to Kyle like a lifeline. She had thought that without a doubt, her life was going to end. And with the adrenaline rush of that surety ending, tears were now trying to break free. Choking them down, Sarah gently pulled away from Kyle. "I thought you were dead…" Her eyes were pulled down to his still wet with blood clothes. Had he been shot? Or was this from the previous injury? Either way, he seemed to be ok…thank god.

"I'm here…I'm not going anywhere. It's over." Breaking free of the little world that was Sarah, Kyle turned his gaze then to the others in the room. The General still had his arm around Kate, but both of their gazes were fixed on john.

Turning his eyes to his friend as well, Kyle furrowed his brow. The T-3000 had stepped over to the pile of silver sand and was studying it with that calculating gaze. He stood eerily still, chest not even rising or falling. "John." At Kyle's words, the resistance leader turned a cold gaze towards the solider. "John, it's over. Come back to us. Please." He still wasn't even sure _what_ it was that John had done in the first place.

"I am here, Kyle." The voice that spoke was void of emotion.

Frowning, Sarah stared at the man as well. "No. You aren't John. Whatever you did, undo it."

"Why?" John regarded the two on the ground; his parents. The relevance of the two together like this didn't even dawn on him.  
They were asking him to return to the lesser being he had been. Emotion was a flaw. A mistake in his programming.

"John…" He turned and set his piercing blue gaze on the new voice that spoke.

"Kate." He had acknowledged her presence earlier with Kyle but hadn't let that information truly register. How was she possibly alive? The shot that she'd taken would have killed any human. Unless there were forces at play that he didn't know about.  
Her expression held worry…and something else. It occurred to him then that her being alive was important. It wasn't logged as important to his mission…But it was none the less. He couldn't remember why….was it a glitch?

Stepping towards him cautiously, the redhead stopped a few feet away. "Skynet's gone. We need you to come back."

Cutting in, Sarah used Kyle's shoulder to push herself to her feet. "Why didn't you shoot me back then? You could have ended it so quickly, but you didn't."

"I-" John started but stopped, unsure as to how to proceed. He was missing something…lacking the proper protocols to process what they wanted him too. Emotion….Humanity. He'd shut it off…but…it had been reading as an error. So why now did it seem so necessary now? It was the reason why Skynet had failed in the end….then again…it was also what had made it so dangerous in the end.

Regarding the Redhead for a moment he then turned his eyes to his parents. Both of their gazes were set on him, hopeful and worried.

Weighing his options with all of the calculated logic a T-3000 possessed, he made the decision. The mission was over, Skynet was gone and this him was no longer needed. But he had one more mission. And that mission required the John Connor his family wanted him to revert to. The lesser, weaker man who'd fallen to Skynet. But the man who these people were important too.

At first the phase matter tried to deny him entry to the protocols he'd only just shut off. Emotion was wrong. An error. But he forced his way past the internal firewall anyway.

/ _Reactivating protocols  
_567  
568  
569_

…  
784  
_1041  
1042

1243

running diagnostics….

The emotion hit him almost as hard as the error messages did. Blasting his consciousness with alarms and flashing warnings.

Sucking in a breath, the resistance leader opened eyes that he hadn't even realized he'd closed. Kate's beautiful face filled his vision, eyes wide with concern. The memory of Skynet's shot and her falling to the ground suddenly flashed through his memory, cutting like a knife. "How are you alive?" He choked, causing her face to brighten and a both Kyle and Sarah to let out a relieved sigh. He wanted so badly to pull her into his arms and never let go. It wasn't often that people he'd lost came back…and here was Kate, who'd now done it to him twice. But he forced his hands to stay at his sides. She didn't know him…and even if she did he wasn't human. There was nothing he could give her.

As the redhead unzipped her jacket, the sight of the Kevlar quickly answered John's question. He let out a small laugh. Of course… he never should have doubted her. This was after all, Kate Brewster. Forcing his gaze from the redhead, he turned guilty eyes on Kyle.

Even though he hadn't cared back in the basement, he remembered the look of disappointment on his friends face. He'd given in; became the thing that they all despised so much and left his father behind. "Kyle...I owe you an apology."

The soldier raised his hand, waving away the resistance leaders words. "You did what you had to…what anyone would have done under the circumstances. I'm just glad you're back."

"Let's just get out of here, ok?" It was Sarah who spoke then. The young woman had stepped over to her T-800 trying to coax him back to life. After a few moments, the light returned to his eyes as he scanned the room.

"Speaking of that…" Rob held up the detonator, motioning for Sarah to take it. But before the young woman could even think to accept it, Kate had snatched it out of her father's hand.

"Give me that thing." She muttered before promptly slamming her finger down on the button. The small blast shook the building but didn't do any visible damage where they were standing.

Watching her, hope swelled in John's chest. Skynet was gone and Genisys was destroyed. Against all odds….it was finally over.

They had won.

...  
Author's note:

*whispers* I'm so sorry that took so long. This is why I don't write long ass fanfics. I have such a goddamn short attention span. I got sidetracked with other fandoms and then eventually I lost the characters voices.  
I'd like to thank everyone who stuck with me until the end. Those who poked me ruthlessly to get my ass in gear get an special thank you, especially those who jabbed me recently. I didn't reply to your reviews but you managed to collectively guilt trip me into finishing the dang thing. *thumbs up* And thank you thank you to those who did review. I love you all!

As for the story...I am aware that it probably could have been much better and that it probably didn't have the drama that you were all holding onto your seats for. Even now I had trouble gaining back the characters voices that I had when I first started. But that's the downside of waiting so long to finish a fic. Now...I SERIOUSLY considered killing John in the end. But I know if I did that I would probably regret it forever. So you all dodged a bullet there since I gave it a happy ending more or less. Actually, I considered doing a lot of different things...urrghh. I wanted to finish it so bad I fear I made it anti climactic. :/  
I might write an epilogue or an alternate ending but...considering my track record with this fic? No promises.


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